. 


"  Rasselas,  having  for  some  time  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the  goats  that 
were  browsing  among  the  rocks,  began  to  compare  their  condition  with 
his  own." 


RASSELAS. 


BY 


SAMUEL    JOHNSON,    L.L.D 


PHILADELPHIA: 

WILLIS    P.    HAZARD, 

190  CHESTNUT    STREET-. 

1856. 


- 


RASSELAS. 


CHAP.  I. 

Description  of  a  Palace  in  a  Valley. 

YE  who  listen  with  credulity  to  the  whispers  of  fancy,  and 
pursue  with  eagerness  the  phantoms  of  hope ;  who  expect 
that  age  will  perform  the  promises  of  youth,  and  that  the 
deficiencies  of  the  present  day  will  be  supplied  by  the  mor- 
row ;  attend  to  the  nistory  of  Rasselas  prince  of  Abissinia. 

Rasselas  was  the  fourth  son  of  the  mighty  emperor,  in  - 
whose  dominions  the  father  of  waters  begins  his  course ; 
whose  bounty  pours  down  the  streams  of  plenty,  and  scatters 
over  the  world  the  harvests  of  Egypt. 

According  to  the  custom  which  has  descended  from  age  to 
age  among  the  monarchs  of  the  torrid  zone,  Rasselas  was 
confined  in  a  private  palace,  with  the  other  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  Abissinian  royalty,  till  the  order  of  succession  should 
call  him  to  the  throne. 

The  place,  which  the  wisdom  or  policy  of  antiquity  had 
destined  for  the  residence  of  the  Abissinian  princes,  was  a 
spacious  valley  in  the  kingdom  of  Amhara,  surrounded  on 
every  side  by  mountains,  of  which  the  summits  overhang  the 
middle  part.  The  only  passage  by  which  it  could  be  enter- 
ed was  a  cavern  that  passed  under  a  rock,  of  which  it  had 
long  been  disputed  whether  it  was  the  work  of  nature  or  of 
human  industry.  The  outlet  of  the  cavern  was  concealed  by 
a  thick  wood,  and  the  mouth  which  opened  into  the  valley 
was  closed  with  gates  of  iron,  forged  by  the  artificers  of  an- 
cient days,  so  massy,  that  no  man,  without  the  help  of  en- 
gines, could  open  or  shut  them. 


4  RASSELAS. 

From  the  mountains  on  every  side  rivulets  descended,  tha« 
filled  all  the  valley  with  verdure  and  fertility,  and  formed  a 
lake  in  the  middle,  inhabited  by  fish  of  every  species,  and 
frequented  by  every  fowl  whom  nature  has  taught  to  dip  the 
wing  in  water.  This  lake  discharged  its  superfluities  by  a 
stream,  which  entered  a  dark  cleft  of  the  mountain  on  the 
northern  side,  and  fell  with  dreadful  noise  from  precipice  to 
precipice,  till  it  was  heard  no  more. 

The  sides  of  the  mountains  were  covered  with  trees,  the 
banks  of  the  brooks  were  diversified  with  flowers ;  every  j 
blast  shook  spices  from  \he  rocks,  and  every  month  dropped 
fruits  upon  the  ground.  All  animals  that  bite  the  grass,  or 
browse  the  shrubs,  whether  wild  or  tame,  wandered  in  this 
extensive  circuit,  secured  from  beasts  of  prey  by  the  moun- 
tains which  confined  them.  On  one  part  were  flocks  and 
herds  feeding  in  the  pastures,  on  another  all  the  beasts  of 
chase  frisking  in  the  lawns  :  the  sprightly  kid  was  bounding 
en  the  rocks,  the  subtle  monkey  frolicking  in  the  trees,  and 
the  solemn  elephant  reposing  in  the  shade.  All  the  diversi- 
ties of  the  world  were  brought  together.  The  blessings  of 
Mature  were  collected,  and  its  evils  extracted  and  excluded. 

The  valley,  wide  and  fruitful,  supplied  its  inhabitants  with 
the  necessaries  of  life  ;  and  all  delights  and  superfluities  were 
added  at  the  annual  visit  which  the  emperor  paid  his  chil- 
dren, when  the  iron  gate  was  opened  to  the  sound  of  music ; 
and  during  eight  days,  every  one  that  resided  in  the  valley 
was  required  to  propose  whatever  might  contribute  to  make 
seclusion  pleasant,  to  fill  up  the  vacancies  of  attention,  and 
lessen  the  tediousness  of  time.  Every  desire  was  immedi- 
ately granted.  All  the  artificers  of  pleasure  were  called  to 
gladden  the  festivity ,  the  musicians  exerted  the  power  of 
harmony,  and  the  dancers  showed  their  activity  before  the 
princes,  in  hopes  that  they  should  pass  their  lives  in  blissful 
captivity,  to  which  those  only  were  admitted  whose  perform- 
ance was  thought  able  to  add  novelty  to  luxury.  Such  was 
the  appearance  of  security  and  delight  which  this  retirement 
afforded,  that  they  to  whom  it  was  new  always  desired  that 
it  might  be  perpetual ;  and  as  those  on  whom  the  iron  gate 
had  once  closed  were  never  suffered  to  return,  the  effect  of 
longer  experience  could  not  be  known.  Thus  every  year 
produced  new  scenes  of  delight,  and  new  competitors  for  im- 
prisonment. 

The  palace  stood  on  an  eminence,  raised  about  thirty 
paces  above  the  surface  of  the  lake.  It  was  divided  into 
many  squares,  or  courts,  built  with  greater  or  less  magnifi- 


RASSELAS.  5 

cence,  according  to  the  rank  of  those  for  whom  they  wert 
designed.  The  roofs  were  turned  into  arches  of  massj 
stdne,  joined  by  a  cement  that  grew  harder  by  time ;  and  th« 
building  stood  trom  century  to  century,  deriding  the  solstitial 
rains  and  equinoctial  hurricanes,  without  need  of  reparation. 
This  house,  which  was  so  large  as  to  be  fully  known  tc 
none  but  some  ancient  officers,  who  successively  inherited 
the  secrets  of  the  place,  was  built  as  if  Suspicion  herself  had 
dictated  the  plan.  To  every  room  there  was  an  open  and 
secret  passage ;  every  square  had  a  communication  with  the 
rest,  either  from  the  upper  stories  by  private  galleries,  or  by 
subterraneous  passages  from  the  lower  apartments.  Many 
of  the  columns  had  unsuspected  cavities,  in  which  a  long  race 
of  mpnarchs  had  reposited  their  treasures.  They  then  clos« 
ed  up  the  opening  with  marble,  which  was  never  to  be  re- 
moved but  in  the  utmost  exigencies  of  the  kingdom ;  and  re» 
corded  their  accumulations  in  a  book,  which  was  itself  con 
ceaieid  in  a  tower,  not  entered-feut  by  the  emperor  attendet 
by  the  prince  who  stood  next  in  succession. 

CHAP.  II. 

The  Discontent  ofRasselas  in  the  Happy  Valley. 
HERE  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Abissinia  lived  only  ta 
•mow  the  soft  vicissitudes  of  pleasure  and  repose,  attended 
by  all  that  were  skilful  to  delight,  and  gratified  with  what- 
ever the  senses  can  enjoy.  They  wandered  in  gardens  ol 
fragrance,  and  slept  in  the  fortresses  of  security.  Every 
art  was  practised  to  make  them  pleased  with  their  own 
condition.  The  sages  who  instructed  them  told  them  ol 
nothing  but  the  miseries  of  public  life,  and  described  all 
beyond  the  mountains  as  regions  of  calamity,  where  discord 
was  always  raging,  arid  where  man  preyed  upon  man.  To 
heighten  their  opinion  of  their  own  felicity,  they  were  daily 
entertained  with  songs,  the  subject  of  which  was  the  happy 
valley.  Their  appetites  were  excited  by  frequent  enumera- 
tions of  different  enjoyments,  and  revelry  and  merriment 
were  the  business  of  every  hour,  from  the  dawn  of  the 
morning  to  the  close  of  the  evening. 

These  methods  were  generally  successful :  few  of  the 
princes  had  ever  wished  to  enlarge  their  bounds,  but  pass-  *• 
ed  their  lives  in  full  conviction  that  they  had  all  within 
their  reach  that  art  or  nature  could  bestow,  and  pitied  those 
whom  nature  had  excluded  from  this  seat  of  tranquillity,  as 
the  sport  of  chance  and  the  slaves  of  misery. 


0  RASSELAS. 

Thus  they  rose  m  the  morning  and  lay  down  at  night, 
pleased  with  each  other  and  with  themselves,  all  but  Ras- 
—  selas,  who,  in  the  twenty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  began  to 
withdraw  himself  from  the  pastimes  and  assemblies,  and 
to  delight  in  solitary  walks  and  silent  meditation.  He 
often  sal  before  tables  covered  with  luxury,  and  forgot  to 
taste  the  dainties  that  were  placed  before  him :  he  rose 
abruptly  in  the  midst  of  the  song,  and  hastily  retired  beyond 
the  sound  of  music.  His  attendants  observed  the  change, 
and  endeavored  to  renew  his  love  of  pleasure  :  he  neglected 
their  officiousness,  repulsed  their  invitations,  and  spent  day 
after  day  on  the  banks  of  rivulets  sheltered  with  trees,  where 
he  sometimes  listened  to  the  birds  in  the  branches,  some- 
times  observed  the  fish  playing  in  the  stream,  and  anon  cast 
his  eyes  upon  the  pastures  and  mountains  filled  with  ani- 
mals, of  which  some  were  biting  the  herbage,  and  some 
sleeping  among  the  bushes.  This  singularity  of  his  humor 
made  him  much  observed.  One  of  the  sages,  in  whose  con- 
versation he  had  formerly  delighted,  followed  him  secretly, 
in  hope  of  discovering  the  cause  of  his  disquiet.  Rasselas, 
who  knew  not  that  any  one  was  near  hinij  having  for  some 
time  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the  goats  that  were  browsing  among 
the  rocks,  began  to  compare  their  condition  with  his  own. 

"  What,"  said  he,  "  makes  the  difference  between  man 
*- ~  and  all  the  rest  of  the  animal  creation  ?  Every  beast  that 
strays  beside  me  has  the  same  corporal  necessities  with  my- 
self: he  is  hungry,  and-  crops  the  grass ;  he  is  thirsty,  and 
drinks  the  stream  ;  his  thirst  and  hunger  are  appeased  ;  he 
is  satisfied,  and  sleeps ;  he  rises  again  and  is  hungry ;  he  is 
again  fed,  and  is  at  rest.  I  am  hungry  and  thirsty,  like  him, 
but  when  thirst  and  hunger  cease,  I  am  not  at  rest ;  I  am, 
hke  him,  pained  with  want,  but  am  not,  like  him,  satisfied 
with  fulness.  The  intermediate  hours  are  tedious  and 
gloomy  :  I  long  again  to  be  hungry,  that  I  may  again  quick- 
en the  attention.  The  birds  peck  the  berries  of  the  corn,  and 
fly  away  to  the  groves,  where  they  sit  in  seeming  happiness 
on  the  branches,  and  waste  their  lives  in  tuning  one  unvaried 
series  of  sounds.  I  likewise  can  call  the  lutanist  and  the 
singer  ;  but  the  sounds  that  pleased  me  yesterday  weary  me 
to-day,  and  will  grow  yet  more  wearisome  to-morrow.  I  can 
discover  in  me  no  power  of  perception  which  is  not  glutted 
with  its  proper  pleasure,  yet  I  do  not  feel  myself  delighted. 
Man  sureiy  has  some  latent  sense,  for  which  this  place  af- 
fords no  gratification ;  or  he  has  some  desires  distinct  from 
sense,  which  must  be  satisfied  before  he  can  be  happy." 


RASSELAS.  7 

After  this  he  lifted  up  his  head,  and  seeing  the  moon  ris- 
ing, walked  towards  the  palace.  As  he  passed  through  the 
fields,  and  saw  the  animals  around  him,  "  Ye,"  said  he,  "are 
happy,  and  need  not  envy  me,  that  walk  thus  among  you, 
burdened  with  myself;  nor  do  I,  ye  gentle  beings,  envy  your 
felicity  ;  for  it  is  not  the  felicity  of  man.  I  have  many  dis-  ^ 
tresses  from  which  ye  are  free ;  I  fear  pain  when  I  do  not 
feel  it ;  I  sometimes  shrink  at  evils  recollected,  and  some- 
times start  at  evils  anticipated  :  surely  the  equity  of  Provi- 
dence has  balanced  peculiar  sufferings  with  peculiar  enjoy- 
ments." 

With  observations  like  these  the  prince  amused  himself  as 
he  returned,  uttering  them  with  a  plaintivfc  voice,  yet  with  a 
look  that  discovered  him  to  feel  some  complacence  in  his  own 
perspicacitv,  and  to  receive  some  solace  of  the  miseries  of 
life,  from  consciousness  of  the  delicacy  with  which  he  felt, 
and  the  eloquence  with  which  he  bewailed  them.  He  min- 
gled cheerfully  in  the  diversions  of  the  evening,  and  all  re- 
joiced to  find  that  his  heart  was  lightened. 

CHAP.  III. 

The  IVants  of  him  that  wants  nothing. 

ON"  the  next  day,  his  old  instructor,  imagining  that  he  had 
now  made  himself  acquainted  with  his  disease  of  mind,  was 
in  hope  of  curing  it  by  counsel,  and  officiously  sought  an  op- 
portunity of  conference,  which  the  prince,  having  long  con- 
sidered him  as  one  whose  intellects  were  exhausted,  was  not 
very  willing  to  afford.  "  Why,"  said  he,  "  does  this  man 
intrude  upon  me  ?  shall  I  never  be  suffered  to  forget  these 
lectures,  which  pleased  only  while  they  were  new,  and  to 
become  new  again,  must  be  forgotten  ?"  He  then  walked  in- 
to the  wood,  and  composed  himself  to  his  usual  meditations ; 
when,  before  his  thoughts  had  taken  any  settled  form,  he  ^ 
perceived  his  pursuer  at  his  side,  and  was  at  first  prompted 
Dy  his  impatience  to  go  hastily  away ;  but  being  unwilling  to 
offend  a  man  whom  he  had  once  reverenced,  and  still  loved,* 
he  invited  him  to  sit  down  with  him  on  the  bank. 

The  old  man,  thus  encouraged,  began  to  lament  the  change 
which  had  been  lately  observed  in  the  prince,  and  to  inquire 
why  he  so  often  retired  from  the  pleasures  of  the  palace,  to 
loneliness  and  silence.  "I  fly  from  pleasure,"  said  the  — 
prince,  "  because  pleasure  has  ceased  to  please;  I  am  lonely 
because  I  am  miserable,  and  am  unwilling  to  cloud  with  my 
presence  the  hapoiness  of  others." — "  You,  sir,"  said  the 


8  RASSELAS, 

sage,  "  are  the  first  who  has  complained  of  misery  in  the 
happy  valley.  I  hope  to  convince  you  that  your  complaints 
have  no  real  cause.  You  are  here  in  full  possession  of  all 
the  emperor  of  Abissmia  can  bestow ;  here  is  neither  labor 
to  be  endured  nor  danger  to  be  dreaded,  yet  here  is  all  that 
labor  or  danger  can  procure  or  purchase.  Look  round  and 
tell  me  which  of  your  wants  is  without  supply  :  if  you  want 
nothing,  how  are  you  unhappy  ?" 

"  That  I  want  nothing,"  said  the  prince,  "  or  that  I  know 
•**-  not  what  I  want,  is  the  cause  of  my  complaint :  if  I  had  any 
known  want,  I  should  have  a  certain  wish ;  that  wish  would 
excite  endeavor,  and  I  should  not  then  repine  to  see  the  sun 
move  so  slowly  to^irds  the  western  mountains,  or  to  lament 
when  the  day  breaks,  and  sleep  will  no  longer  hide  me  from 
myself.  When  I  see  the  kids  and  the  lambs  chasing  one 

\another,  I  fancy  that  I  should  be  happy  if  I  had  something  to 
pursue.  But,  possessing  all  that  I  can  want,  I  find  one  day 
and  one  hour  exactly  like  another,  except  that  the  latter  is 
still  more  tedious  than  the  former!  Let  your  experience  in- 
form me  how  the  day  may  now  seem  as  short  as  in  my  child- 
hood, while  nature  was  yet  fresh,  and  every  moment  showed 
me  what  1  never  had  observed  before.  T  have  already  en- 
jjfc^Joyed  too  much  :  give  me  something  to  desire."  The  old 
man  was  surprised  at  this  new  species  of  affliction,  and  knew 
not  what  to  reply,  yet  was  unwilling  to  be  silent.  "  Sir," 
said  he,  "  if  you  had  seen  the  miseries  of  the  world  you  would 
know  how  to  value  your  present  state."  "Now,"  said  the 
prince,  "  you  have  given  me  something  to  desire :  I  shall 
Hong  to  see  the  miseries  of  ihe  world,  since  the  sight  of  then: 
is  necessary  to  happiness." 


CHAP.  IV. 

The  Prince  continues  to  grieve  and  muse. 
AT  this  time  the  sound  of  music  proclaimed  the  hour  ot 
repast,  and  the  conversation  was  concluded.  The  old  man 
went  away  sufficiently  discontented  to  find  that  his  reason- 
ings had  produced  the  only  conclusion  which  they  were  in- 
tended to  prevent.  But  in  the  decline  of  life,  shame  and 
grief  are  of  short  duration  :  whether  it  be  that  we  bear  easi- 
ly what  we  have  borne  long ;  or  that,  finding  ourselves  in  age 
less  regarded,  we  less  regard  others;  or  that  we  look  wit' 
slight  regard  upon  afflictions,  to  which  we  know  that  the  *»»* 
of  death  is  about  to  put  an  end. 


RASSELAS.  9 

The  prince,  whose  views  were  extended  to  a  wider  space, 
could  not  speedily  quiet  his  emotions.  He  had  been  before 
terrified  at  the  length  of  life  which  nature  promised  him,  be- 
cause he  considered  that  in  a  long  time  much  must  be  en- 
dured :  he  now  rejoiced  in  his  youth,  because  in  many  years 
much  might  be  done.  This  first  beam  of  hope  that  had  been 
ever  darted  into  his  mind,  rekindled  youth  in  his  cheeks,  and 
doubled  the  lustre  of  his  eyes.  He  was  fired  with  the  desire 
of  doing  something,  though  he  knew  not  yet,  with  distinct- 
ness, either  end  or  means.  He  was  now  no  longer  gloomy 
and  unsocial ;  but,  considering  himself  as  master  of  a  secret 
stock  of  happiness,  which  he^could  only  enjoy  by  concealing 
it,  he  affected  to  be  busy  in  all  the  schemes  of  diversion,  and 
endeavored  to  make  others  pleased  with  the  state  of  which 
he  himself  was  weary.  But  pleasures  can  never  be  so  mul 
tiplied  or  continued  as  not  to  leave  much  of  life  unemployed  ; 
there  were  many  hours,  both  of  the  night  and  day,  which  he 
could  spend  without  suspicion  in  solitary  thought.  The  load 
of  life  was  much  lightened;  he  went  eagerly  into  the  assem- 
blies, because  he  supposed  the  frequency  of  his  presence  ne- 
cessary to  the  success  of  his  purposes  ;  he  retired  gladly  to 
privacy,  because  he  had  now  a  subject  of  thought.  His  .- 
chief  amusement  was  to  picture  to  himself  that  world  whicli 
he  had  never  seen,  to  place  himself  in  various  conditions,  to 
be  entangled  in  imaginary  difficulties,  and  to  be  engaged  in 
wild  adventures ;  but  his  benevolence  always  terminated  his 
projects  in  the  relief  of  distress,  the  detection  of  fraud,  the 
defeat  of  oppression,  and  the  diffusion  of  happiness. 

Thus  passed  twenty  months  of  the  life  of  Rasselas.     He  •• 
busied  himself  so  intensely  in  visionary  bustle  that  he  forgot 
his  real  solitude  ;  and,  amidst  hourly  preparations  for  the  va- 
rious incidents  of  human  affairs,  neglected  to  consider  by 
what  means  he  should  mingle  with  mankind. 

One  day,  as  he  was  sitting  on  a  bank,  he  feigned  to  himself 
an  orphan  virgin  robbed  of  her  little  portion  by  a  treacherous 
lover,  and  crying  after  him  for  restitution.  So  strongly  was 
the  image  impressed  upon  his  mind,  that  he  started  up  in  the 
maid's  defence,  and  ran  forward  to  seize  the  plunderer  with 
all  the  eagerness  of  real  pursuit.  Fear  naturally  quickens 
the  flight  of  guilt.  Rasselas  could  not  catcti  the  fugitive 
with  his  utmost  efforts  :  but,  resolving  to  weary  by  perseve- 
rance him  whom  he  could  not  surpass  in  speed,  he  pressed 
on  till  the  foot  of  the  mountain  stopped  his  course. 

Here  he  recollected  himself,  and  smiled  at  his  own  useless 
impetuosity.  Then  raising  his  eyes  to  the  mountain,  "  This," 


10  RASSELAS. 

said  he,  "  is  the  fatal  obstacle  that  hinders  at  once  the  en- 
joyment of  pleasure  and  the  exercise  of  virtue.  How  long  is 
it  that  my  hopes  and  wishes  have  flown  beyond  this  boundary 
of  my  life,  which  yet  I  never  have  attempted  to  surmount !" 
Struck  with  this  reflection,  he  sat  down  to  muse,  and  remem 
bered,  that  since  he  first  resolved  to  escape  from  his  con- 
finement, the  sun  had  passed  twice  over  him  in  his  annual 
course.  He  now  felt  a  degree  >f  regret  with  which  he  had 
never  been  before  acquainted  He  considered  how  much 
might  have  been  done  in  the  tirr»«  which  had  passed,  and  left 
nothing  real  behind  it.  He  compared  twenty  months  with 
the  life  of  man.  "  In  life,"  said  he  •'  is  not  to  be  counted  the 
ignorance  of  infancy  or  imbecility  of  age.  We  are  long  be- 
fore we  are  able  to  think,  and  we  soon  cease  from  the  power 
of  acting.  The  true  period  of  human  existence  may  be  rea- 
sonably estimated  at  forty  years,  of  which  I  have  mused 
away  the  four-and-twentieth  part.  What  I  have  lost  w*.s 
certain,  for  I  have  certainly  possessed  it;  but  of  twenty 
months  to  come  who  can  assure  me  ?" 

The  consciousness  of  his  folly  pierced  him  deeply,  and  he 
was  long  before  he  could  be  reconciled  to  himself.  "  The 
rest  of  my  time,"  said  he,  "h?s  beer  lost  by  the  crime  or 
folly  of  my  ancestors,  and  the  absurd  institutions  of  my  coun- 
try ;  I  remember  it  with  disgust,  yet  without  remorse ;  but 
the  months  that  have  passed  since  new  light  darted  into  my 
soul,  since  I  formed  a  scheme  of  reasonable  felicity,  have 
been  squandered  by  my  own  fault.  1  have  lost  that  which 
can  never  be  restored  ;  I  have  seen  the  sun  rise  and  set  for 
twenty  months,  an  idle  gazer  on  the  light  of  heaven  :  in  this 
time  the  birds  have  left  the  nest  of  their  mother,  and  com- 
mitted themselves  to  the  woods  and  to  the  skies ;  the  kid  has 
forsaken  the  teat,  and  learned  by  degrees  to  climb  the  rocks 
in  quest  of  independent  sustenance.  I  only  have  made  no  ad- 
vances, but  am  still  helpless  and  ignorant.  The  moon,  by 
more  than  twenty  changes,  admonished  me  of  the  flux  of 
life  ;  the  stream  that  rolled  before  my  feet  upbraided  my  in- 
activity. I  sat  feasting  on  intellectual  luxury,  regardless 
alike  of  the  examples  of  the  earth  and  the  instructions  of  the 
pla.nets.  Twenty  months  are  passed,  who  shall  restore 
vhem  ?" 

These  sorrowful  meditations  fastened  upon  his  mind  :  he 

^.passed  four  months  in  resolving  to  lose  no  more  time  in  idle 

resolves,  and  was  awakened  to  more  vigorous  exertion,  by 

hearing  a  maid  who  had  broken  a  porcelain  cup,  remark,  that 

vhat  cannot  be  repaired  is  not  to  be  regretted. 


V  RASSELAS.  11 

This  was  obvious  ;  and  Rasselas  reproached  himself  that 
he  had  not  discovered  it ;  having  not  known,  or  not  considered, 
how  many  useful  hints  are  obtained  by  chance,  and  how  often 
the  mind,  hurried  by  her  own  ardor  to  distant  views,  neglects 
the  truths  that  lie  opened  before  her.  He,  for  a  few  hours, 
regreUed  his  regret,  and  from  that  time  bent  his  whole  mind 
upon  the  means  of  escaping  from  the  valley  of  happiness. 


CHAP.  V. 

The  Prince  meditates  his  Escape. 

HE  now  found  that  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  effect  that 
which  it  was  very  easy  to  suppose  effected.  When  he  looked 
round  about  him,  he  saw  himself  confined  by  the  bars  of  na- 
ture, which  had  never  yet  been  broken,  and  by  the  gate, 
through  which  none  that  had  once  passed  it  were  ever  ahle  to 
return.  He  was  now  impatient  as  an  eagle  in  a  grate."  He  « 
passed  week  after  week  in  clambering  the  mountains  Jto  see 
if  there  was  any  aperture  which  the  bushes  might  conceal, 
but  found  all  the  summits  inaccessible  by  their  prominence. 
The  irjoft-gate  he  despaired  to  open  ;  for  it  was  not  only  se- 
cured with  all  the  power  of  art,  but  was  always  watched  by 
successive  sentinels,  and  was  by  its  position  exposed  to  the 
perpetual  observation  of  all  the  inhabitants. 

He  then  examined  the  cavern  through  which  the  waters  of 
the  lake  were  discharged ;  and,  looking  down  at  a  time  when 
the  sun  shone  strongly  upon  its  mouth,  he  discovered  it  to  be 
full  of  broken  rocks,  which,  though  they  permitted  the  stream 
to  flow  through  many  narrow  passages,  would  stop  any  body 
of  solid  bulk.     He  returned  discouraged  and  dejected;  but,i 
having  now  known  the  blessing  of  hope,  resolved  never  tcl 
despair.  ^ 

In  these  fruitless  researches  he  spent  tenjojonths.  The  *» 
time,  however,  passed  cheerfully  away ;  in  the  morning  he 
rose  with  new  hope,  in  the  evening  applauded  his  own  dili- 
gence, and  in  the  night  slept  sound  after  his  fatigue.*.  He  met 
a  thousand  amusements,  which  beguiled  his  labor  and  diver- 
sified his  thoughts.  He  discerned  the  various  instincts  of  ani- 
mals, and  properties  of  plants,  and  found  the  place  replete 
with  wonders,  of  which  he  proposed  to  solace  himself  with  the 
contemplation,  if  he  should  never  be  able  to  accomplish  his 
flight ,  rejoicing  that  his  endeavors,  though  yet  unsuccessful, 
had  supplied  him  with  a  source  of  inexhaustible  inquiry. 

But  his  original  curiosity  was  not  yet  abated  ;  he  resolved 


12  RASSELAS. 

to  obtain  some  knowledge  of  the  ways  of  men.  His  wish  still 
continued,  but  his  hope  grew  less.  He  ceased  to  survey  any 
longer  the  walls  of  his  prison,  and  spared  to  search  by  ner 
toils  for  interstices  which  he  knew  could  not  be  found,  yet  de* 
termined  to  keep  his  design  always  in  view,  and  lay  hold  of 
any  expedient  time  should  offer. 


CHAP.  VI. 

A  Dissertation  on  the  Art  of  Flying, 

AMONG  the  artists  that  had  been  allured  into  the  happy 
valley,  to  labor  for  the  accommodation  and  pleasure  of  its  in- 
habitants, was  a  man  eminent  for  his  knowledge  of  the  me- 
chanic powers,  who  had  contrived  many  engines  both  o .*  use 
and  recreation.  By  a  wheel  which  the  stream  turned,  he 
forced  the  water  into  a  tower,  whence  it  was  distributed  to  all 
the  apartments  of  the  palace.  He  erected  a  pavilion  in  thai 
garden,  around  which  he  kept  the  air  always  cool  by  artificial* 
showers.  One  of  the  groves,  appropriated  to  the  ladies,  was 
ventilated  by  fans,  to  which  the  rivulets  that  ran  through  it 
gave  a  constant  motion;  and  instruments  of  soft  music  were 
played  at  proper  distances,  of  which  some  played  by  the  im- 
pulse of  the  wind,  and  some  by  the  power  of  the  stream. 

This  artist  was  sometimes  visited  by  Rasselas,  who  was 
pleased  with  every  kind  of  knowledge,  imagining  that  the 
time  would  come'when  all  his  acquisitions  should  be  of  use  to 
him  in  the  open  world.  He  came  one  day  to  amuse  him- 
self in  his  usual  manner,  and  found  the  master  busy  in  build- 
ing a  sailing  chariot :  he  saw  that  the  design  was  practicable 
upon  a  tevel  surface,  and  with  expressions  of  great  esteem 
solicited  its  completion.  The  workman  was  pleased  to  find 
himself  so  much  regarded  by  the  prince,  and  resolved  to  gain 
yet  higher  honors.  "  Sir,"  said  he,  "  you  have  seen  but  a 
small  part  of  what  the  mechanic  science  can  perform.  I  have 
been  long  of  opinion,  that  instead  of  the  tardy  conveyance  of 
ships  and  chariots,  man  might  use  the  swifter  migration  of 
wings;  that  the  fields  of  air  are  open  to  knowledge,  and  tha* 
only  ignorance  and  idleness  need  crawl  upon  the  ground." 

This  hint  rekindled  the  prince's  desire  of  passing  the  moun- 
tains. Having  seen  what  the  mechanist  had  already  perform- 
ed, he  was  willing  to  fancy  that  he  could  do  more ;  yet  resolv- 
ed to  inquire  farther  before  he  suffered  hope  to  afflict  him  by 
disappointment.  "  I  am  afraid,"  said  he  to  the  artist,  "  that 
your  imagination  prevails  over  your  skill,  and  thar  you  now 


RASSELAS.  13 

tell  me  rather  what  you  wish  than  what  you  know.  Every 
animal  has  his  element  assigned  him ;  the  birds  have  the  air, 
and  man  and  beast  the  earth."  "  So,"  replied  the  mechanist 
"  fishes  have  the  water,  in  which  yet  beasts  can  swim  by  na- 
ture, and  man  by  art.  He  that  can  swim  needs  not  despair 
to  fly :  to  swim  is  to  fly  in  a  grosser  fluid,  and  to  fly  is  to 
swim  in  a  subtler.  We  are  only  to  proportion  our  power  of 
resistance  to  the  different  density  of  matter  through  which  we 
are  to  pass.  You  will  be  necessarily  upborne  by  the  air,  if 
you  can  renew  any  impulse  upon  it  faster  than  the  air  can  re- 
cede from  the  pressure." 

"  But  the  exercise  of  swimming,"  said  the  prince,  "  is  very 
laborious  ;  the  strongest  limbs  are  soon  wearied :  I  am  afraid 
the  act  of  flying  will  be  yet  more  violent ;  and  wings  will  be 
of  no  great  use,  unless  we  can  fly  further  than  we  can  swim." 

"  The  labor  of  rising  from  the  ground,"  said  the  artist,  "  will 
be  great,  as  we  see  it  in  the  heavier  domestic  fowls ;  but,  as 
we  mount  higher,  the  earth's  attraction,  and  the  body's  gra-  I 
vity,  will  be  gradually  diminished,  till  we  shall  arrive  at  a  re- I 
gion  where  the  man  shall  float  in  the  air  without  any  tenden-  "  \ 
3V  to  fall ;  no  care  will  then  be  necessary  but  to  move  forward, 
which  the  gentlest  impulse  will  effect.  You,  sir,  whose  curi« 
osity  is  so  extensive,  will  easily  conceive  with  what  pleasure 
a  philosopher,  furnished  with  wings,  and  hovering  in  the  sky, 
would  see  the  earth,  and  all  its  inhabitants,  rolling  beneath 
him,  and  presenting  to  him  successively,  by  its  diurnal  mo- 
tion, all  the  countries  within  the  same  parallel.  How  must 
it  amuse  the  pendent  spectator  to  see  the  moving  scene  of 
land  and  ocean,  cities  and  deserts  !  to  survey  with  equal  se- 
curity the  marts  of  trade,  and  the  fields  of  battle ;  mountains 
infested  by  barbarians,  and  fruitful  regions  gladdened  by 
plenty  and  lulled  by  peace !  How  easily  shall  we  then  trace 
the  Nile  through  all  his  passages,  pass  over  to  distant  regions, 
and  examine  the  state  of  nature  from  one  extremity  of  the 
earth  to  the  other." 

"  All  this,"  said  the  prince,  "  is  much  to  be  desired,  but  I 
am  afraid  that  no  man  will  be  able  to  breathe  in  these  regions 
of  speculation  and  tranquillity.  I  have  been  told  that  respi- 
ration is  difficult  upon  lofty  mountains  ;  yet  from  these  preci- 
pices, though  so  high  as  to  produce  great  tenuity  of  air,  it  is 
very  easy  to  fall ;  therefore  I  suspect,  that  from  any  height, 
where  life  can  be  supported,  there  may  be  danger  of  too  quick 
descent." 

"  Nothing,"  replied  the  artist,  "  will  ever  be  attempted,  if    /. 
ill  possible  objections  must  be  first  overcome.    If  you  will 


14  RASSELAS. 

favor  my  project,  I  will  try  the  first  flight  at  my  own  hazard. 
I  have  considered  the  structure  of  all  volant  animals,  and  find 
the  folding  continuity  of  the  bats'  wings  most  easily  accom- 
modated to  the  human  form.  Upon  this  model  I  shall  begin 
my  task  to-morrow  ;  and,  in  a  year,  expect  to  tower  into  the 
air  beyond  the  malice  and  pursuit  of  man.  But  I  will  work 
only  on  this  condition,  that  the  art  shall  not  be  divulged,  and 
that  you  shall  not  require  me  to  make  wings  for  any  out  our- 
selves." 

"  Why,"  said  Rasselas,  "  should  you  envy  others  so  great 
an  advantage  ?  All  skill  ought  to  be  exerted  for  universal 
good  ;  every  man  has  owed  much  to  others,  and  ought  to  re- 
pay the  kindness  that  he  has  received." 

"  If  men  were  all  virtuous,"  returned  the  artist,  "  I  should 
with  great  alacrity  teach  them  to  fly.  But  what  would  be  the 
security  of  the  good  if  the  bad  could  at  pleasure  invade  them/ 
from  the  sky  ?  Against  an  army  sailing  through  the  clouds  J 
neither  walls,  mountains,  nor  seas,  could  affora  security.  A I 
flight  of  northern  savages  might  hover  in  the  wind,  and  light 
with  irresistible  violence  upon  the  capital  of  a  fruitful  region. 
Even  this  valley,  the  retreat  of  princes,  the  abode  of  happi- 
ness, might  be  violated  by  the  sudden  descent  of  some  of  the 
naked  nations  that  swarm  on  the  coast  of  the  southern  sea !" 

The  prince  promised  secrecy,  and  waited  for  the  perfor- 
mance, not  wholly  hopeless  of  success.  He  visited  the  work 
from  time  to  time,  observed  its  progress,  and  remarked  many 
ingenious  contrivances  to  facilitate  motion,  and  unite  levity 
with  strength.  The  artist  was  every  day  more  certain  that 
he  should  leave  vultures  and  eagles  behind  him,  and  the  con- 
tagion of  his  confidence  seized  upon  the  prince.  In  a  year  the 
wings  were  finished  ;  and,  on  a  morning  appointed,  the  maker 
appeared  furnished  for  flight  on  a  little  promontory :  he  wav- 
ed his  pinions  a  while  to  gather  air,  then  leaped  from  his  stand, 
and  in  an  instant  dropped  into  the  lake.  His  wings,  which 
were  of  no  use  in  the  air,  sustained  him  in  the  water ;  and 
the  prince  drew  him  to  land  half  dead  with  terror  and  vex- 
ation. 

CHAP.  VII. 
The  Pnnce  finds  a  Man  of  learning. 

THE  prince  was  not  much  afflicted  by  this  disaster,  haying 
suffered  himself  to  hope  for  a  happier  event  only  because 
he  had  no  other  means  of  escape  in  view.  He  still  persisted 


RASSELAS.  15 

41  his  design  to  leave  the  happy  valley  by  the  first  oppor- 
tunity. 

His  imagination  was  now  at  a  stand  ;  he  had  no  prospect 
of  entering  into  the  world  ;  and,  notwithstanding  all  his  en- 
deavors to  support  himself,  discontent,  by  degrees,  preyed  - 
upon  him ;  and  he  began  again  to  lose  his  thoughts  in  sadness, 
when  the  rainy  season,  which  in  these  countries  is  periodical, 
made  it  inconvenient  to  wander  in  the  woods. 

The  rain  continued  longer  and  with  more  violence  than  had 
ever  been  known :  the  clouds  broke  on  the  surrounding  moun- 
tains, and  the  torrents  streamed  into  the  plain  on  every  side, 
till  the  cavern  was  too  narrow  to  discharge  the  water.  The 
lake  overflowed  its  banks,  and  all  the  level  of  the  valley  was 
covered  with  the  inundation.  The  eminence  on  which  the 
palace  was  built,  and  some  other  spots  of  rising  ground,  were 
all  that  the  eye  could  now  discover.  The  herds  and  flocks 
left  the  pasture,  and  both  the  wild  beasts  and  the  tame  re- 
treated to  the  mountains. 

This  inundation  confined  all  the  princes  to  domestic  amuse- ._ 
ments  ;  and  the  attention  of  Rasselas  was  particularly  seized 
by  a  poem,  which  Imlac^jpehearsed,  upon  the  various  condi- 
tions of  humanity7~~He  commanded  the  poet  to  attend  him 
in  his  apartment,  and  recite  his  verses  a  second  time ;  then, 
entering  into  familiar  talk,  he  thought  himself  happy  in  having 
found  a  man  who  knew  the  world  so  well,  and  could  so  skil- 
fully paint  the  scenes  of  life.  He  asked  a  thousand  questions 
about  things,  to  which,  though  common  to  all  other  mortals, 
his  confinement  from  childhood  had  kept  him  a  stranger.  The 
poet  pitied  his  ignorance,  and  loved  his  curiosity,  and  enter- 
tained him  from  day  to  day  with  novelty  and  instruction,  so  that 
the  prince  regretted  the  necessity  of  sleep,  and  longed  till  the 
morning  should  renew  his  pleasure. 

As  they  were  sitting  together,  the  prince  commanded  1m* 
jac  to  relate  his  history,  and  to  tell  by  what  accident  he  was 
forced,  or  by  what  motive  induced,  to  close  his  life  in  the  happy 
valley.  As  he  was  going  to  begin  his  narrative,  Rassela* 
was  called  to  a  concert,  and  obliged  to  restrain  hifi  curiosity 
till  the  evening. 


CHAP.  VIII, 

The  History  of  Imlac. 

THE  close  of  the  day  is,  in  the  regions  of  the  torrid  zone, 
the  only  season  of  diversion  and  entertainment,  and  it  was 


1«  RASSELAS. 

theieioro  midnight  before  the  music  ceased  and  the  princess- 
es retired.  Rasselas  then  called  for  his  companion,  and  re- 
quired him  to  begin  the  story  of  his  life. 

"  Sir,"  said  Imlac,  "  my  history  will  not  be  long:  the  life 
that  is  devoted  to  knowledge  passes  silently  away,  and  is 
very  little  diversified  by  events.  To  talk  in  public,"  to  think 
in  solitude,  to  read  and  to  hear,  to  inquire  and  answer  inquiries, 
is  the  business  of  a  scholar.  He  wanders  about  the  world 
without  pomp  or  terror,  and  is  neither  known  nor  valued  but 
by  men  like  himself. 

"  I  was  born  in  the  kingdom  of  Goiama,  at  no  great  dis- 
tance from  the  fountain  of  the  Nile.  My  father  was  a  wealthy 
merchant,  who  traded  between  the  inland  countries  of  Africa 
and  the  ports  of  the  Red  Sea.  He  was  honest,  frugal,  and 
diligent,  but  of  mean  sentiments  and  narrow  comprehension ; 
he  desired  only  to  be  rich,  and  to  conceal  his  riches,  lest  he 
should  be  •spoiled  by  the  governor  of  the  provinces." 

"  Surely,"  said  the  prince,  "  my  father  must  be  negligent 
of  his  charge,  if  any  man  in  his  dominions  dares  take  that 
which  belongs  to  another.  Does  he  not  know  that  kings  are 
accountable  for  injustice  permitted  as  well  as  done?  If  I 
were  emperor,  not  the  meanest  of  my  subjects  should  be  op- 
pressed with  impunity.  My  blood  boils  when  I  am  told  that 
a  merchant  durst  not  enjoy  his  honest  gains  for  fear  of  losing 
them  by  the  rapacity  of  power.  Name  the  governor  who 
robbed  the  people,  that  I  may  declare  his  crimes  to  the  em- 
peror!" 

"  Sir,"  said  Imlac,  "  your  ardor  is  the  natural  effect  of 
virtue  animated  by  youth :  the  lime  will  come  when  you  will 
acquit  your  father,  and  perhaps  hear  with  less  impatience  of 
the  governor.  Oppression  is,  in  the  Abissinian  dominions, 
,r  neither  frequent  nor  tolerated ;  but  no  form  of  government 
/  has  been  yet  discovered,  by  which  cruelty  can  be  wholly  pre- 
vented. Subordination  supposes  power  on  one  part  and  sub- 
jection on  the  other  ;  and  u  power  be  in  the  hands  of  men, 
it  will  sometimes  be  abused.  The  vigilance  of  the  supreme 
magistrate  may  do  much,  but  much  will  still  remain  undone. 
He  can  never  know  all  the  crimes  that  are  committed,  and 
can  seldom  punish  all  that  he  knows." 

"  This,"  said  the  prince,  "  I  do  not  understand;  but  I  had 
rather  hear  thee  than  dispute.  Continue  thy  narration." 

"  My  father,"  proceeded  Imlac,  "  originally  intended  that 
I  should  have  no  other  education  than  such  as  might  qualify 
me  for  commerce ;  and  discovering  in  me  great  strength  of 
memory  and  quickness  of  apprehension,  often  declared  his 


RASSELAS.  17 

hope  that  I  should  be  some  time  the  richest  man  in  Abissi- 
nia." 

"Why,"  said  the  prince,  "  did  thy  father  desire  the  in-^ 
crease  of  his  wealth,  when  it  was   already  greater  than  he 
durst  discover  or  enjoy  ?  C  am  unwilling  to  doubt  thy  veraci- 
ty, yet  inconsistencies  cannot  both  be  true." 

"  Inconsistencies,"  answered  Imlac,  "cannot  both  be  right; 
but,  imputed  to  man,  they  may  both  be  true.  Yet  diversity 
is  not  inconsistency.  My  father  might  expect  a  time  of 
greater  security.  However,  some  desire  is  necessary  to  keep 
life  in  motion ;  and  he,  whose  real  wants  are  supplied,  must 
admit  those  of  fancy." 

"  This,"  said  the  prince,  "  I  can  in  some  measure  con- 
ceive. 1  repent  that  I  interrupted  thee." 

"  With  this  hope,"  proceeded  Imlac,  "  he  sent  me  to 
school :  but  when  I  had  once  found  the  delight  of  knowledge, 
and  felt  the  pleasure  of  intelligence  and  the  pride  of  inven- 
.-on,  I  began  silently  to  despise  riches,  and  determined  to 
disappoint  the  purposes  of  my  father,  whose  grossness  of 
conception  raised  ray  pity.  I  was  twenty  years  old  before 
his  tenderness  would  expose  me  to  the  fatigue  of  travel ;  in 
which  time  I  had  been  instructed,  by  successive  masters,  in 
all  the  literature  of  my  native  country.  As  every  hour  taught 
me  something  new,  I  lived  in  a  continual  course  of  gratifica- 
tions ;  but,  as  I  advanced  towards  manhood,  I  lost  much  of 
the  reverence  with  which  I  had  been  used  to  look  on  my  in- 
structors ;  because,  when  the  lessons  were  ended,  I  did  not 
find  them  wiser  or  better  than  common  men. 

"  At  length  my  father  resolved  to  initiate  me  in  commerce  ; 
and,  opening  one  of  his  subterranean  treasuries,  counted  out 
ten  thousand  pieces  of  gold.  This,  young  man,  said  he,  is 
the  stock  with  which  you  must  negotiate.  I  began  with  less 
than  a  fifth  part,  and  you  see  how  diligence  and  parsimony 
have  increased  it.  This  is  your  own,  to  waste  or  to  improve. 
If  you  squander  it  by  negligence  or  caprice,  you  must  wait 
for  my  death  before  you  will  be  rich ;  if  in  four  years  you 
double  your  stock,  we  will  thenceforward  let  subordination 
cease,  and  live  together  as  friends  and  partners  :  for  he  shall 
be  always  equal  with  me,  who  is  equally  skilled  in  the  art  ol 
growing  rich. 

"  We  laid  our  money  upon  camels,  concealed  in  bales  01 
cheap  goods,  and  travelled  to  the  shore  of  the  Red  Sea. 
When  I  cast  my  eye  on  the  expanse  of  waters,  my  heart 
bounded  like  that  of  a  prisoner  escaped.  I  felt  an  unextin- 
guishable  curiositv kindle  in  my  mind,  and  resolved  to  snatch 


18  RASSELAS. 

this  opportunity  of  seeing  the  manners  of  other  nations,  and 
of  learning  sciences  unknown  in  Abissinia. 

"  I  remembered  that  my  father  had  obliged  me  to  the  im- 
provement of  my  stock,  not  by  a  promise,  which  I  ought  not 
to  violate,  but  by  a  penalty,  which  I  was  at  liberty  to  incur; 
and  therefore  determined  to  gratify  my  predominant  desire, 
and,  by  drinking  at  the  fountain  of  knowledge,  to  quench  the 
thirst  of  curiosity. 

"  As  I  was  supposed  to  trade  without  connexion  with  my 
father,  it  was  easy  for  me  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
master  of  a  ship,  and  procure  a  passage  to  some  other  coun- 
try. I  had  no  motives  of  choice  to  regulate  my  voyage.  It 
was  sufficient  for  me,  that,  wherever  I  wandered,  I  should 
see  a  country  which  I  had  not  seen  before.  I  therefore  en- 
tered a  ship  bound  for  Surat,  having  left  a  letter  for  my  father 
declaring  «ny  intention."^* 

CHAP.  IX. 
The  History  of  Imlac  continued. 

"  WHEN  I  first  entered  upon  the  world  of  waters,  and  lost 
sight  of  land,  I  looked  round  about  me  in  pleasing  terror,  and 
thinking  my  soul  enlarged  by  the  boundless  prospect,  ima- 
gined that  I  could  gaze  around  for  ever  without  satiety ;  but, 
m  a  short  time,  I  grew  weary  of  looking  on  barren  unifoimity, 
where  I  could  only  see  again  what  I  had  already  seen.  I 
then  descended  into  the  snip,  and  doubted  for  a  while  whe- 
ther all  my  future  pleasures  would  not  end,  like  this,  in  disgust 
and  disappointment.  Yet  surely,  said  I,  the  ocean  arid  the 
land  are  very  different;  the  only  variety  of  water  is  rest  and 
motion,  but  the  earth  has  mountains  and  valleys,  deserts  and 
cities  ;  it  is  inhabited  by  men  of  different  customs,  and  con- 
trary opinions ;  and  I  may  hope  to  find  variety  in  life,  though 
"  I  should  miss  it  in  nature. 

"  With  this  thought  I  quieted  my  mind  ;  and  amused  my- 
self during  the  voyage,  sometimes  by  learning  from  the  sail- 
ors the  art  of  navigation,  which  I  have  never  practised,  and 
sometimes  by  forming  schemes  for  my  conduct  in  different 
situations,  in  not  one  of  which  I  have  been  ever  placed. 

"I  was  almost  weary  of  my  naval  amusements,  when  we 
safely  landed  at  Surat.  I  secured  my  money,  and,  purchas- 
ing sorns  commodities  for  show,  joined  myself  to  a  caravan 
that  was  passing  into  the  inland  country.  My  companions, 
for  some  reason  or  other,  conjecturing  that  I  was  rich,  and, 
by  my  inquiries  and  admiration,  finding  that  I  was  ignorant, 


RASSELAS.  10 

considered  me  as  a  novice  whom  they  had  a  right  to  cheat, 
and  who  was  to  learn,. at  the  usual  expense,  the  art  of  fraud. 
They  exposed  me  to  the  theft  of  servants  and  the  exaction 
of  officers,  and  saw  me  plundered  upon  false  pretences,  with- 
out any  advantage  to  themselves,  but  that  of  rejoicing  in  the 
superiority  of  their  own  knowledge."  ^^  ^ 

"  Stop  a  moment,"  said  the  prince  :  "  is  there  suob  de« 
pravity  in  man,  as  that  he  should  injure  another  without  be- 
nefit to  himself?  I  can  easily  conceive  that  all  are  pleased 
with  superiority  ;  but  your  ignorance  was  merely  accidental, 
which,  being  neither  your  crime  nor  your  folly,  could  afford 
them  no  reason  to  applaud  themselves;  arid  the  knowledge 


tself  with  very  mean  advantages  ;  and  envy  feels  not  its  own 
happiness  but  when  it  may  be  compared  with  the  misery  of 
others.  They  were  my  enemies  because  they  grieved  to 
think  me  rich,  and  my  oppressors  because  they  delighted  to 
find  me  weak." 

"Proceed,"  said  the  prince:  "  I  doubt  not  of  the  facts 
which  you  relate,  but  imagine  that  you  impute  them 
taken  motives."  ' 

"  In  this  company,"  said  Imlac,  "  I  arrived  at 


capital  of  Indostan,  the  city  in  which  the  Great  Mogul  com. 
monly  resides.  I  applied  myself  to  the  language  of  the 
country,  and  in  a  few  months  was  able  to  converse  with  the 
learned  men  ;  some  of  whom  I  found  morose  and  reserved  ; 
and  others  easy  and  communicative  ;  some  were  unwilling 
to  teach  another  what  they  had  with  difficulty  learned  them- 
selves; and  some  showed  that  the  end  of  their  studies  wasta 
gain  the  dignity  of  instructing. 

"  To  the  Tutor  of  the  young  princes  I  recommended  my. 
self  so  much,  that  I  was  presented  to  the  emperor  as  a  man 
of  uncommon  knowledge.  The  emperor  asked  me  many 
questions  concerning  my  country  and  my  travels  ;  and  though 
I  cannot,  now  recollect  any  thini»  thau  ne  uttered  above  the 
power  of  a  common  man,  he  dismissed  me  astonished  at  his 
wisdom,  and  enamoured  of  his  goodness. 

"  My  credit  was  now  so  high,  that  the  merchants  with 
whom  I  had  travelled  applied  to  me  for  recommendations  to 
the  ladies  of  the  court.  [  was  surprised  at  their  confidence 
of  solicitation,  and  gently  reproached  them  with  their  prac- 
tices on  the  road.  They  heard  me  with  cold  indifference,  anc 
showed  no  tokens  of  shame  or  sorrow. 


20  RASSELArf. 

"  They  then  urged  their  request  with  the  offer  of  a  unbo , 
but  what  I  would  not  do  for  kindness  I  would  not  do  for 
money,  and  refused  them  ;  not  because  they  had  injured  me ; 
but  because  I  would  not  enable  them  to  injure  others  ;  for  I 
knew  they  would  have  made  use  of  my  credit  to  cheat  those 
who  should  buy  their  wares. 

"  Having  resided  at  Agra  till  there  was  no  more  to  be 
learned,  I  travelled  into  Persia,  where  I  saw  many  remains 
of  ancient  magnificence,  Infflf-trBserved  many  new  accommo- 
dations of  life.  The  Persians  are  a  nation  "eminently  social, 
and  their  assemblies  afforded  me  daily  opportunities  of  re- 
marking characters  and  manners,  and  of  tracing  human  na- 
ture through  all  its  variations. 

"  From  Persia  I  passed  into  Arabia,  where  I  saw  a  na- 
tion pastoral  and  warlike  ;  who  lifa*N>ithout  any  settled  ha- 
bitation, whose  wealth  is  their  flocks  and  herds,  arid  who  have 
carried  on,  through  ages,  an  hereditary  war  with  mankind, 
though  they  never  covet  nor  envy  their  possessions." 

CHAP.  X. 
Imlac's  History  continued.     A  Dissertation  upon  Poetry. 


.**-•  v  WHEREVER  1  went,  1  tounn  that  poetry  was  considered 
as  ftie  highest  learning,  and  regarded  with  a  veneration  some- 
what approaching  to  that  which  man  would  pay  to  angelic  na- 
ture. And  yet  it  fills  me  with  wonder,  that,  in  almost  all 
countries,  the  most,  ancient  poets  are  considered  as  the  best ; 
whether  it.  be  that  every  other  kind  of  knowledge  is  an  ac 
quisition  gradually  attained,  and  poetry  is  a  gift  conferred  a' 
once  ;  or  that  the  first  poetry  of  every  nation  surprised  them 
as  a  novelty,  and  retained  the  credit  by  consent  which  it  re- 
ceived by  accident  at  first ;  or  whether,  as  the  province  of 
poetry  is  to  describe  nature  and  passion,  which  are  always 
the  same,  the  first  writers  took  possession  of  the  most  strik- 
ing objects  for  description  and  the  most  probable  occurrences 
for  fiction,  and  left  nothing  to  those  that  followed  the.m  but 
transcription  of  the  same  events,  and  new  combinations  a 
the  same  images.  Whatever  be  the  reason,  it  is  common!}) 
_  observed  that  the  early  writers  are  in  possession  of  nature,! 
and  their  followers  of  art ;  that  the  first  excel  in  strength  and 
invention,  and  the  latter  in  elegance  and  refinement. 

"  I  was  desirous  to  add  my  name  to  this  illustrious  frater- 
nity. I  read  all  the  poets  of  Persia  a*id  Arabia,  and  was 
able  to  repeat  by  memory  the  volumes  that  are  suspended  in 

*    the  mosque  of  Mecca.     But  I  soon  found  that  no  man  was 


RASSELAS.  21 

ever  great  by  imitation.  My  desire  of  excellence  impeuea 
me  to  transfer  my  attention  to  nature  and  to  life.  Nature 
was  to  be  my  subject,  and  men  to  be  my  auditors.  I  could 
never  describe  what  I  had  not  seen ;  I  could  not  hope  to 
move  those  with  delight  or  terror,  whose  interests  and  opi- 
nions I  did  not  understand. 

"  Being  now  resolved  to  be  a  poet,  I  saw  every  thing  with 
a  new  purpose  ;  my  sphere  of  attention  was  suddenly  mag- 
nified; no  kind  of  knowledge  was  to  be  overlooked.  I 
ranged  mountains  and  deserts  for  images  and  resemblances, 
and  pictured  upon  my  mind  every  tree  of  the  forest  ana 
flower  of  the  valley.  I  observed  with  equal  care  the  crags 
of  the  rock  and  the  pinnacles  of  the  palace. — Sometimes  I 
wandered  along  the  mazes  of  the  rivulet,  and  sometimes 
watched  the  changes  of  the  summer  clouds. — Tn  a  poet _no- 
thing  can  be  useless.  Whatever  is  beautiful,  and  whatever 
isOTe*a:dftn,  must  be  familiar  to  his  imagination ;  he  must  be 
conversant  with  all  that  is  awfully  vast  or  elegantly  little. 
The  plants  of  the  garden,  the  animals  of  the  wood,  the  mi- 
nerals of  the  earth,  and  meteors  of  the  sky,  must  all  concur 
to  store  his  mind  with  inexhaustible  variety  ;  for  every  idea 
is  useful  for  the  enforcement  or  decoration  of  moral  or  reli- 
gious truth  ;  and  he  who  knows  most  will  have  most  power 
of  diversifying  his  scenes,  and  of  gratifying  his  reader  with 
remote  allusions  and  unexpected  instruction. 

"  All  the  appearances  of  na-ture  I  was  therefore  careful  to 
study ;  and  every  country  \vnich  I  have  surveyed  has  contri- 
Duted  something* to  my  poetical  powers." 

"  In  so  wide  a  survey,"  said  the  prince,  "  you  must  surely 
nave  left  much  unobserved.  I  have  lived  till  now  within  the 
circuit  of  the  mountains,  and  yet  cannot  walk  abroad  with- 
out the  sight  of  something  which  I  had  never  beheld  before, 
or  never  heeded." 

"  The  business  of  a  poet,"  said  Imlac,  "  is  to  examine, 
not  the  individual,  but  the  species  ;  to  remark  "general  pro- 
perties and  large  appearances ;  he  does  not  number  the 
streaks  of  the  tulip,  or  describe  the  different  shades  of  the 
verdure  of  the  forest.  He  is  to  exhibit  in  his  portraits  01 
nature  such  prominent  and  striking  features  as  recall  the 
original  to  every  mind ;  and  must  neglect  the  minuter  dis- 
criminations, which  one  may  have  remarked,  and  anothei 
have  neglected,  for  those  characteristics  which  are  alike  ob- 
vious to  vigilance  and  carelessness.  ,j 

"  But  .the  knowledge  of  nature  is  only  half  the  task  oLa     ^ 
ooet;  hemust  be  acquainted  likewise  with  all  the  modes  of 


22  RASSELAS. 

life.  His  character  requires  that  he  estimate  the  happiness 
and  misery  of  every  condition ;  observe  the  power  of  all  the 
passions  in  all  their  combinations  ;  and  trace  the  changes  of 
the  human  mind,  as  they  are  modified  by  various  institutions 
and  accidental  influences  of  climate  or  custom,  from  the 
sprightliness  of  infancy  to  the  despondence  of  decrepitude. 
He  must  divest  himself  of  the  prejudices  of  his  age  and 
country ;  he  must  consider  right  and  wrong  in  their  abstract- 
ed and  invariable  state ;  he  must  disregard  present  laws  and 
opinions,  and  rise  to  general  and  transcendental  truths, 
which  will  always  be  the  same  :  he  must,  therefore,  content 
himself  with  the  slow  progress  of  his  name,  contemn  the 
praise  of  his  own  time,  and  commit  his  claims  to  the  justice 
of  posterity.  He  must  write  as  the  interpreter  of  nature, 
and  the  legislator  of  mankind,  and  consider  himself  as  pre- 
siding over  the  thoughts  and  manners  of  future  generations, 
as  a  being  superior  to  time  and  place. 

"  His  labor  is  not  yet  at  an  end  ;  he  must  know  many  Ian-  / 
guages  and  many  sciences  ;  and,  that  his  style  may  be  wor-  1 
thy  of  his  thoughts,  must,  by  incessant  practice,  familiarize  / 
to  himself  every  delicacy  of  speech  and  grace  of  harmony." 

CHAP.  XI. 

Imlac's  Narrative  continued.    A  Hint  on  Pilgrimage. 

IMLAC  now  felt  the  enthusiastic  fit,  and  was  proceeding  to 
aggrandize  his  own  profession,  when  the  prince  cried  out, 
"  Enough  !  thou  hast  convinced  me  that  no  human  being  can 
ever  be  a  poet.  Proceed  with  thy  narration." 

"  To  be  a  poet,"  said  Imlac,  "  is  indeed  very  difficult.' 
"  So  difficult,"  returned  the  prince,  "  that  I  will  at  present 
hear  no  more  of  his  labors.  Tell  me  whither  you  went 
when  you  had  seen  Persia." 

"  From  Persia,"  said  the  poet,  "  I  travelled  through 
Syria,  and  for  three  years  resided  in  Palestine,  where  I  con- 
versed with  great  numbers  of  the  norm  em  and  western  na- 
tions of  Europe  ;  the  nations  which  are  now  in  possession 
of  all  power  and  all  knowledge  ,  whose  armies  are  irresisti- 
ble, and  whose  fleets  command  the  remotest  parts  of  the 
globe.  When  I  compared  these  men  with  the  natives  oJ. 
our  own  kingdom  and  those  that  surround  us,  they  appeared 
almost  another  order  of  beings.  In  their  countries  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  wish  for  any  thing  that  may  not  be  obtained  :  a  thou- 
sand arts,  of  which  we  never  heard,  are  continually  laboring 
for  their  convenience  and  pleasure  ;  and  whatever  their  own 
climate  has  denied  them  is  supplied  by  their  commerce." 

"  By  what  means,"  said  the  prince,  "  are  the  European! 


RASSELAS.  23 

thus  powerful  ?  or  why,  since  they  can  so  easily  visit  Asia 
and  Africa  for  trade  or  conquest,  cannot  the  Asiatics  and 
Africans  invade  their  coasts,  plant  colonies  in  their  ports, 
and  give  laws  to  their  natural  princes  ?  The  same  wind 
that  carries  them  back  would  bring  us  thither." 

"  They  are  more  powerful,  sir,  than  we,"  answered  Im- 
lac, "  because  they  are  wiser ;  knowledge  will  always  pre- 
dominate over  ignorance,  as  man  governs  the  other  animals. 
But  why  their  knowledge  is  more  than  ours,  I  know  not 
what  reason  can  be  given  but  the  unsearchable  will  of  the 
Supreme  Being." 

"  When,"  said  the  prince  with  a  sigh,  "  shall  I  be  able  to 
visit  Palestine,  and  mingle  with  this  mighty  confluence  of 
nations  ?  Till  that  happy  moment  shall  arrive,  let  me  fill  up 
the  time  with  such  representations  as  thou  canst  give  me.  I 
am  not  ignorant  of  the  motive  that  assembles  such  numbers 
in  that  place,  and  cannot  but  consider  it  as  the  centre  of 
wisdom  and  piety,  to  which  the  best  and  wisest  men  of  every 
land  must  be  continually  resorting." 

"  There  are  some  nations,"  said  Imlac,  "  that  send  few 
visitants  to  Palestine  ;  for  many  numerous  and  learned  sects 
in  Europe  concur  to  censure  pilgrimage  as  superstitious,  or 
deride  it  as  ridiculous." 

"  You  know,"  said  the  prince,  "  how  little  my  life  has 
made  me  acquainted  with  diversity  of  opinions :  it  will  be 
too  long  to  hear  the  arguments  on  both  sides  ;  you,  that  have 
considered  them,  tell  me  the  result." 

"  Pilgrimage,"  said  Imlac,  "  like  many  other  acts  of  piety, 
may  be  reasonable  or  superstitious,  according  to  the  princi- 
ples upon  which  it  is  performed.  Long  journeys  in  search  of 
truth  are  not  commanded.  Truth,  such  as  is  necessary  to 
the  regulation  of  life,  is  always  found  where  it  is  honestly 
sought.  Change  of  place  is  no  natural  cause  of  the  increase 
of  piety,  for  it  inevitably  produces  dissipation  of  mind.  Yet, 
since  men  go  every  day  to  view  the  fields  where  great  actions 
have  been  performed,  and  return  with  stronger  impressions 
of  the  event,  curiosity  of  the  same  kind  may  naturally  dis- 
pose us  to  view  that  country  whence  our  religion  had  its  be- 
ginning ;  and  I  believe  no  man  surveys  those  awful  scenes 
without  some  confirmation  of  holy  resolutions.  That  the 
Supreme  Being  may  be  more  easily  propitiated  in  one  place 
than  in  another,  is  the  dream  of  idle  superstition  ;  but  that 
some  places  may  operate  upon  our  own  minds  in  an  uncom- 
mon manner,  is  an  opinion  which  hourly  experience  will  jus- 
tify. He  who  supposes  that  his  vices  may  be  more  success- 


24  RASSELAS 

ully  combated  in  Palestine  will,  perhaps,  find  himself  mis- 
taken ;  yet  he  mav  go  thither  without  folly  :  he  who  thinks 
they  will  be  more  freely  pardoned,  dishonors  at  once  his  rea- 
son and  religion." 

"  These,"  said  tne  prince,  tl  are  European  distinctions. 
I  will  consider  them  another  time.  What  have  you  found 
to  be  the  effect  of  knowledge  ?  Are  those  -  nations  happier 
than  we  ?" 

"There  is  so  much  infelicity,"  said  the  poet,  "in  the 
world,  that  scarce  any  man  has  leisure  from  his  own  dis- 
tresses to  estimate  the  comparative  happiness  of  others. 
Knowledge  is  certainly  one  of  the  means  of  pleasure,  as  is 
confessed  by  the  natural  desire  which  every  mind  feels  of  in- 
creasing its  ideas.  Ignorance  is  mere  privation,  by  which 
nothing  can  be  produced ;  it  is  a  vacuity  in  which  the  soul 
sits  motionless  and  torpid  for  want  of  attraction  ;  and,  with- 
out knowing  why,  we  always  rejoice  when  we  learn,  and 
grieve  when  we  forget.  I  am  therefore  inclined  to  conclude, 
that  if  nothing  counteracts  the  natural  consequence  of  learn- 
ing, we  grow  more  happy  as  our  minds  take  a  wider  range. 

"  In  enumerating  the  particular  comforts  of  life,  we  shall 
find  many  advantages  on  the  side  of  the  Europeans.  They 
cure  wounds  and  diseases  with  which  we  languish  and  pe- 
rish. We  suffer  inclemencies  of  weather  which  they  can 
obviate.  They  have  engines  for  the  despatch  of  many  labo- 
rious works,  which  we  must  perform  by  manual  industry. 
There  is  such  communication  between  distant  places,  that 
one  friend  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  absent  from  another. 
Their  policy  removes  all  public  inconveniences :  they  have 
roads  cut  through  the  mountains  ;  and  bridges  laid  upon  their 
rivers.  And,  if  we  descend  to  the  privacies  of  life,  theii 
habitations  are  more  commodious,  and  their  possessions  are 
more  secure." 

"  They  are  surely  happy,"  said  the  prince,  "  who  have  all 
these  conveniences,  of  which  I  envy  none  so  much  as  the 
facility  with  which  separated  friends  interchange  their 
thoughts." 

"  The  Europeans,"  answered  Imlac,  "  are  less  unhappy 
than  we,  but  they  are  not  happy.  Human  life  is  every 
where  a  state  in  which  much  is  to  be  endured,  and  little  to 
be  enjoyed." 


RASSELAS.  25 


CHAP.  XII. 

The  Story  of  Imlac  continued. 

"  I  AM  not  willing,"  said  the  prince,  "  to  suppose  that  hap* 
piness  is  so  parsimoniously  distributed  to  mortals ;  nor  can  I 
believe  but  that,  if  I  had  the  choice  of  life,  I  should  be  able 
to  fill  every  day  with  pleasure.  I  would  injure  no  man,  and 
should  provoke  no  resentments :  I  would  relieve  every  dis- 
tress, and  should  enjoy  the  benedictions  of  gratitude.  I 
would  choose  my  friends  among  the  wise,  and  my  wife 
among  the  virtuous  ;  and  therefore  should  be  in  no  danger 
from  treachery  or  unkindness.  My  children  should,  by  my 
wre,  be  learned  and  pious,  and  would  repay  to  my  age  what 
their  childhood  had  received.  What  would  dare  to  molest 
him  who  might  call  on  every  side  to  thousands  enriched  by 
his  bounty,  or  assisted  by  his  power?  And  why  should  not 
life  glide  away  in  the  soft  reciprocation  of  protection  and  re- 
verence ?  All  this  may  be  done  without  the  help  of  Euro- 
pean refinements,  which  appear  by  their  effects  to  be  rather 
specious  than  useful.  Let  us  leave  them,  and  pursue  our 
journev." 

"  From  Palestine,"  said  Imlac,  "  I  passed  through  manv 
regions  of  Asia  ;  in  the  more  civilized  kingdoms  as  a  trader 
and  among  the  barbarians  of  the  mountains  as  a  pilgrim.  Af 
last  I  began  to  long  for  my  native  country,  that  I  might  re- 
pose after  my  travels  and  fatigues,  in  the  places  where  I  had 
spent  my  earliest  years,  and  gladden  my  old  companions  with 
the  recital  of  my  adventures.  Often  did  I  figure  to  myself 
those  with  whom  I  had  sported  away  the  gay  hours  of  dawn- 
ing life,  sitting  round  me  in  its  evening,  wondering  at  my 
tales,  and  listening  to  my  counsels. 

"  When  this  thought  had  taken  possession  of  my  mind,  I 
considered  every  moment  as  wasted  which  did  not  bring  me 
nearer  to  Abissmia.  I  hastened  into  Egypt,  and,  notwith- 
standing my  impatience,  was  detained  ten  months  in  the  con- 
templation of  its  ancient  magnificence,  and  in  inquiries  after 
the  remains  of  its  ancient  learning.  I  found  in  Cairo  a  mix- 
ture  of  all  nations;  some  brought  thither  by  die  l&ViJ  Ul 
knowledge,  some  by  the  hope  of  gain,  many  by  the  desire  o« 
living  after  their  own  manner  without  observation,  and  of  ly- 
ja^lud  in  the  obscurity  of  multitudes  :  for  in  a  city  populous 


26  RASSELAS. 

as  Cairo,  it  is  possible  to  obtain  at  the  same  time  the  gratifi- 
cations of  society,  and  the  secrecy  of  solitude. 

"  From  Cairo  I  travelled  to  Suez,  and  embarked  or)  the 
Red  Sea,  passing  along  the  coast,  till  I  arrived  at  the  port 
from  which  I  had  departed  twenty  years  before.  Here  I 
joined  myself  to  a  caravan,  and  re-entered  my  native  country. 

"  I  now  expected  the  caresses  of  my  kinsmen,  and  the 
congratulations  of  my  friends  ;  and  was  not  without  hope 
that  my  father,  whatever  value  he  had  set  upon  riches, 
would  own  with  gladness  and  pride  a  son  who  was  able  to 
add  to  the  felicity  and  honor  of  the  nation.  But  I  was  soon 
convinced  that  my  thoughts  were  vain.  My  father  had  been 
dead  fourteen  years,  having  divided  his  wealth  among  my 
brothers,  who  were  removed  to  some  other  provinces.  Of 
my  companions,  the  greater  part  were  in  the  grave;  of  the 
rest,  some  could  with  difficulty  remember  me,  and  some  con- 
sidered me  as  one  corrupted  by  foreign  manners. 

"  A  man  used  to  vicissitudes  is  not  easily  dejected.  I 
forgot,  after  a  time,  my  disappointment,  and  endeavored  to 
recommend  myself  to  the  nobles  of  the  kingdom  :  they  ad- 
mitted me  to  their  tables,  heard  my  story,  and  dismissed  me. 
I  opened  a  school,  and  was  prohibited  to  teach.  I  then  re- 
solved to  sit  down  in  the  quiet  of  domestic  life,  and  addressed 
a  lady  that  was  fond  of  my  conversation,  but  rejected  my 
suit  because  my  father  was  a  merchant. 

"  Wearied  at  last  with  solicitation  and  repulses,  I  resolved 
to  hide  myself  for  ever  from  the  world,  and  depend  no  longer 
on  the  opinion  or  caprice  of  others.  I  waited  for  the  time 
vftien  the  gate  of  the  happy  valley  should  open,  that  I  might 
bid  farewell  to  hope  and  fear :  the  day  came  ;  my  perform- 
^ance  was  distinguished  with  favor,  and  I  resigned  myself  with 
joy  to  perpetual  confinement." 

"  Hast  thou  here  found  happiness  at  last?"  said  Rasselas. 
"  Tell  me  without  reserve ;  art  thou  content  with  thy  condi- 
tion ?  or  dost  thou  wish  to  be  again  wandering  and  inquiring? 
All  the  inhabitants  of  this  valley  celebrate  their  lot,  and,  at 
the  annual  visit  of  the  emperor,  invite  others  to  partake  of 
their  felicity." 

"  Great  prince,"  said  Imlac,  "  I  shall  speak  the  truth :  I 
-  know  not  one  of  all  your  attendants  who  does  not  lament  the 
hour  when  he  entered  this  retreat.  I  am  less  unhappy  than 
the  rest,  because  I  have  a  mind  replete  with  images,  which 
I  can  vary 'and  combine  at  pleasure.  I  can  amuse  my  soli- 
tude by  the  renovation  of  the  knowledge  which  begins  to  fade 
from  my  memory,  and  by  recollection  of  the  accidents  of  my 


RASSELA8.  2? 

past  life.  Yet  all  this  ends  in  the  sorrowful  consideration 
that  my  acquirements  are  now  useless,  and  that  none  of  my 
pleasures  can  be  again  enjoyed.  The  rest,  whose  minds 
have  no  impression  but  of  the  present  moment,  are  either 
corroded  by  malignant  passions,  or  sit  stupid  in  the  gloom  of 
perpetual  vacancy." 

"  What  passions  can  infest  those,"  said  the  prince,  "  who 
have  no  rivals  ?  We  are  in  a  place  where  impotence  pre- 
cludes malice,  and  where  all  envy  is  repressed  by  communi- 
ty of  enjoyments." 

"  There  may  be  community,"  said  Imlac,  "  of  material 
possessions,  but  there  can  never  be  community  of  love  or  of  •• 
esteem.  It  must  happen  that  one  will  please  more  than  an- 
other: he  that  knows  himself  despised  will  always  be  en- 
vious :  and  still  more  envious  and  malevolent  if  he  is  con- 
demned to  live  in  the  presence  of  those  who  despise  him. 
The  invitations  by  which  they  allure  others  to  a  state  which 
they  feel  to  be  wretched,  proceed  from  the  natural  malignity 
of  hopeless  misery.  They  are  weary  of  themselves,  and  of 
each  other,  and  expect  to  find  relief  in  new  companions. 
They  envy  the  liberty  which  their  folly  has  forfeited,  and 
would  gladly  see  all  mankind  in^risoned  like  themselves. 

"  From  this  crime,  however,  I  am  wholly  free.  No  man 
can  say  that  he  is  wretched  by  my  persuasion.  I  look  with 
pity  on  the  crowds  who  are  annually  soliciting  admission  to 
captivity,  and  wish  that  it  were  lawful  for  me  to  warn  them 
of  their  danger." 

"  My  dear  Imlac,"  said  the  prince,  "  I  will  open  to  thee 
my  whole  heart.  I  have  long  meditated  an  escape  from  the 
happy  valley.  I  have  examined  the  mountain  on  every  side, 
but  find  myself  insuperably  barred :  teach  me  the  way  to 
break  my  prison ;  thou  shalt  be  the  companion  of  my  flight, 
the  guide  of  my  rambles,  the  partner  of  my  fortune,  and  my 
sole  director  in  the  choice  of  life." 

"  Sir,"  answered  the  poet,  "  your  escape  will  be  d^ficult, 
and,  perhaps,  you  may  soon  repent  your  curiosity.  The 
world,  which  you  figure  to  yourself  smooth  and  quiet  as  the 
lake  in  the  valley,  you  will  find  a  sea  foaming  with  tempests 
arid  boiling  with  whirlpools;  you  will  be  sometimes  over- 
4  whelmed  by  the  waves  of  violence,  and  sometimes  dashed 
against  the  rocks  of  treachery.  Amidst  wrongs  and  frauds, 
competitions  and  anxieties,  you  will  wish  a  thousand  times  for 


28  RASSELAS. 

these  seats  of  quiet,  and  willingly  quit  hope  to  be  free  from 
fear." 

"  Do  not  seek  to  deter  me  from  my  purpose,"  said  the 
prince  :  "  I  am  impatient  to  see  what  thou  hast  seen ;  and 
since  thou  art  thyself  weary  of  the  valley,  it  is  evident  that 
thy  former  state  was  better  than  this.  Whatever  be  the  con- 
sequence of  my  experiment,  I  am  resolved  to  judge  with  mine 
own  eyes  of  the  various  conditions  of  men,  and  then  to  make 
deliberately  my  choice  of  life" 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  Imlac,  "  you  are  hindered  by  stronger 
restraints  than  my  persuasions ;  yet,  if  your  determination 
is  fixed,  I  do  not  counsel  you  to  despair.  Few  things  are 
impossible  to  diligence  and  skill." 

CHAP.  XIII. 

Rasselas  discovers  the  Means  of  Escape. 

THE  prince  now  dismissed  his  favorite  to  rest,  but  the  nar- 
rative of  wonders  and  novelties  filled  his  mind  with  pertur- 
bation. He  revolved  all  that  he  had  heard,  and  prepared  in- 
numerable questions  for  the  morning. 

Much  of  his  uneasiness  was  now  removed.  He  had  a 
friend  to  whom  he  could  impart  his  thoughts,  and  whose  ex- 
perience could  assist  him  in  his  designs.  His  heart  was  no 
longer  condemned  to  swell  with  silent  vexation.  He  thought 
that  even  the  happy  valley  might  be  endured  with  such  a 
companion,  and  that,  if  they  could  range  the  world  together, 
he  should  have  nothing  further  to  desire. 

In  a  few  days  the  water  was  discharged,  and  the  ground 
dried.  The  prince  and  Imlac  then  walked  out  together,  to 
converse  without  the  notice  of  the  rest.  The  prince,  wnose 
thoughts  were  always  on  the  wing,  as  he  passed  by  the  gate, 
said,  with  a  countenance  of  sorrow,  "  Why  art  thou  so  strong, 
and  why  is  man  so  weak  ?" 

"  Man  is  not  weak,"  answered  his  companion ;  "  know- 
ledge is  more  than  equivalent  to  force.  The  master  of  me- 
chanics laughs  at  strength.  I  can  burst  the  gate,  but  cannot 
do  it  secretly.  Some  other  expedient  must  be  tried." 

As  they  were  walking  on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  they 
observed  that  the  conies,  which  the  rain  had  driven  from  their 
burrows,  had  taken  shelter  among  the  bushes,  and  formed 
holes  behind  them,  tending  upwards  in  an  oblique  line. 

"  It  has  been  the  opinion  of  antiquity,"  said  Imlac,  "  that 
human  reason  borrowed  many  arts  from  the  instinct  of  ani- 
mals ;  let  us,  therefore^  not  think  ourselves  degraded  by  learn- 


• 


RASSELAS. 


ing  from  the  cony.    We  may  escape  by  piercing  the  moun  -- 
tain  in  the  same  direction.     We  will  begin  where  the  sum 
mit  hangs  over  the  middle  part,  and  labor  upward  till  we  shaD 
issue  out  beyond  the  prominence." 

The  eyes  of  the  prince,  when  he  heard  this  proposal,  spark- 
led with  joy.  The  execution  was  easy,  and  the  success  cer 

No  time  was  now  lost.  They  hastened  early  in  the  morn- 
ing to  choose  a  place  proper  for  their  mine.  They  clamber 
ed  with  great  fatigue  among  crags  and  brambles,  and  return*, 
ed  without  having  discovered  any  part  that  favored  their  de- 
sign. The  second  and  the  third  day  were  spent  in  the  same 
Banner,  and  with  the  same  frustration.  But  on  the  fourth  -* 
they  found  a  small  cavern,  concealed  by  a  thicket,  where  they 
resolved  to  make  their  experiment. 

Imlac  procured  instruments  proper  to  hew  stone  and  re- 
move earth,  and  they  fell  to  their  work  the  next  day  with 
more  eagerness  than  vigor.  They  were  presently  exhausted 
oy  their  efforts,  and  sat  down  to  pant  upon  the  grass.  The 
prince,  for  a  moment,  appeared  to  be  discouraged.  "  Sir," 
said  his  companion,  "  practise  will  enable  us  to  continue  our 
labor  for  a  longer  time :  mark,  however,  how  far  we  have  ad- 
vanced, and  ye  will  find  that  our  toil  will  some  time  have  an 
end.  Great  works  are  performed  not  by  strength,  but  per-  — ' 
severance :  yonder  palace  was  raised  by  single  stones,  yet 
you  see  its  height  and  spaciousness.  He  that  shall  walk  with 
vigor  three  hours  a  day,  will  pass  in  seven  years  a  space  equal 
to  the  circumference  of  the  globe." 

They  returned  to  their  work  day  after  day,  and,  in  a  short 
time,  found  a  fissure  in  the  rock,  which  enabled  them  to  pass 
far  with  very  little  obstruction.  This  Rasselas  considered 
as  a  good  omen.  "  Do  not  disturb  your  mind,"  said  Imlac, 
"  with  other  hopes  or  fears  than  reason  may  suggest:  if  you 
are  pleased  with  prognostics  of  good,  you  will  be  terrified 
likewise  with  tokens  of  evil,  and  your  whole  life  will  be  a  prey 
to  superstition.  Whatever  facilitates  our  work  is  more  than 
an  omen ;  it  is  a  cause  of  success.  This  is  one  of  those 
pleasing  surprises  which  often  happen  to  active  resolution 
Many  things  difficult  to  design  prove  easy  to  performance.'' 


CHAP.  XIV. 

Rasselas  and  Imlac  receive  an  unexpected  Visit. 
THEY  had  now  wrought  their  way  to  the  middle,  and  so- 
.aced  their  toil  with  the  approach  of  liberty,  when  the  prince, 


30  RASSELAS. 

coming  down  to  refresn  himself  with  air,  found  his  sister  Ne« 
S  kayah  standing  at  the  mouth  of  the  cavity.  He  started,  and 
stood  confused,  afraid  to  tell  his  design,  and  yet  hopeless  to 
conceal  it.  A  few  moments  determined  him  to  repose  on 
her  fidelity,  and  secure  her  secrecy  by  a  declaration  without 
reserve. 

"Do  not  imagine,"  said  the  princess,  "  that  I  came  hither 
as  a  spy  :  I  had  long  observed  from  my  window  that  you  and 
Imlac  directed  your  walk  every  day  towards  the  same  point, 
but  I  did  not  suppose  you  had  any  better  reason  for  the  pre- 
ference than  a  cooler  shade,  or  more  fragrant  bank;  nor  fol- 
lowed you  with  any  other  design  than  to  partake  of  your  con- 
versation. Since,  then,  not  suspicion  but  fondness  has  de- 
tected you,  let  me  not  lose  the  advantage  of  my  discovery. 
_,?••  I  am  equally  weary  of  confinement  with  yourself,  and  not 
less  desirous  of  knowing  what  is  done  or  suffered  in  the  world. 
Permit  me  to  fly  with  you  from  this  tasteless  tranquillity, 
which  will  yet  grow  more  loathsome  when  you  have  left  me. 
You  may  deny  rne  to  accompany  you,  but  cannot  hinder  me 
from  following." 

The  prince,  who  loved  Ntjk^aysth  above  his  other  sisters, 
had  no  inclination  to  refuse  her  request,  and  grieved  that  he 
had  lost  an  opportunity  of  showing  his  confidence  by  a  vo- 
luntary communication.  It  was  therefore  agreed,  that  she 
should  leave  the  valley  with  them ;  and  that,  in  the  mean 
time,  she  should  watch  lest  any  other  straggler  should,  by 
chance  or  curiosity,  follow  them  to  the  mountain. 

At  length  their  labor  was  at  an  end :  they  saw  light  be- 
yond the  prominence,  and,  issuing  to  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain, beheld  the  Nile,  yet  a  narrow  current,  wandering  be- 
neath them. 

The  prince  looked  round  with  rapture,  anticipated  all  the 
pleasures  of  travel,  and  in  thought  was  already  transported 
beyond  his  father's  dominions.  Imlac,  though  very  joyful  at 
his  escape,  had  less  expectation  of  pleasure  in  the  world, 
which  he  had  before  tried,  and  of  which  he  had  been  weary. 
Rasselas  was  so  much  delighted  with  a  wider  horizon,  that 
he  could  not  soon  be  persuaded  to  return  into  the  valley.  He 
informed  his  sister  that  the  way  was  now  open,  and  that  no* 
thing  now  remained  but  to  prepare  for  their  departure. 


RASSELAS. 


CHAP.  XV. 

The  Prince  and  Princess  leave  the  Valley,  and  see  many 
Wonders. 

THE  prince  and  princess  had  jewels  sufficient  to  make 
them  rich  whenever  they  came  into  a  place  of  commerce  ^ 
which,  by  Imlac's  direction,  they  hid  in  their  clothes,  and,  on 
the  night  of  the  next  full  moon,  all  left  the  valley.  The  prin- 
cess was  followed  only  by  a  single  favorite,  who  did  not  know 
whither  she  was  going. 

They  clambered  through  the  cavity,  and  began  to  go  down 
on  the  other  side.  The  princess  and  her  maid  turned  their 
eyes  toward  every  part,  and  seeing  nothing  to  bound  their 
prospect,  considered  themselves  in  danger  of  being  lost  in  a 
dreary  vacuity.  They  stopped  and  trembled.  "  I  am  al- 
most afraid,"  said  the  princess,  "  to  begin  a  journey,  of  which 
I  cannot  perceive  an  end,  and  to  venture  into  this  immense 
plain,  where  I  may  be  approached  on  every  side  by  men 
whom  I  never  saw."  The  prince  felt  nearly  the  same  emo- 
tions, though  he  thought  it  more  manly  to  conceal  them. 

Imlac  smiled  at  their  terrors,  and  encouraged  them  to  pro- 
ceed ;  but  the  princess  continued  irresolute  till  she  had  been 
imperceptibly  drawn  forward  too  far  to  return. 

In  the  morning  they  found  some  shepherds  in  the  field,  who 
set  some  milk  and  fruit  before  them.  The  princess  wonder- 
ed that  she  did  not  see  a  palace  ready  for  her  reception,  and 
a  table  spread  with  delicacies ;  but  being  faint  and  hungry, 
she  drank  the  milk  and  ate  the  fruits,  and  thought  them  of  a 
higher  flavor  than  the  products  of  the  valley. 

They  travelled  forward  by  easy  journeys,  being  all  unac- 
customed to  toil  and  difficulty,  and  knowing  that,  though  they 
might  be  missed,  they  could  not  be  pursued.  In  a  few  days 
chey  came  into  a  more  populous  region,  where  Imlac  was  di- 
verted with  the  admiration  which  his  companions  expressed 
at  the  diversity  of  manners,  stations,  and  employments 
Their  dress  was  such  as  might  not  bring  upon  them  the  sus 
picion  of  having  any  thing  to  conceal ;  yet  the  prince,  wher- 
ever he  came,  expected  to  be  obeyed,  and  the  princess  was 
frighted,  because  those  who  came  into  her  presence  did  not 
orostrate  themselves.  Imlac  was  forced  to  observe  them 


^  RASSELAS. 

*rith  great  vigilance,  lest  they  should  betray  their  rank  by 
Jieir  unusual  behavior,  and  detained  them  several  weeks  in 
the  first  village,  to  accustom  them  to  the  sight  of  common 
mortals. 

By  degrees  the  royal  wanderers  were  taught  to  understand 
that  they  had  for  a  time  laid  aside  their  dignity,  and  were  to 
expect  only  such  regard  as  liberality  and  courtesy  could  pro- 
cure. And  Imlac,  having,  by  many  admonitions,  prepared 
them  to  endure  the  tumults  of  a  port,  and  the  ruggedness  of 
the  commercial  race,  brought  them  down  to  the  sea-coast. 

The  prince  and  his  sister,  to  whom  every  thing  was  new, 
were  gratified  equally  at  all  places,  and  therefore  remained 
for  some  months  at  the  port  without  any  inclination  to  pass 
further.  Imlac  was  content  with  their  stay,  because  he  did 
not  think  it  safe  to  expose  them,  unpractised  in  the  world,  to 
the  hazards  of  a  foreign  country. 

At  last  he  began  to  fear  lest  they  should  be  discovered,  and 
proposed  to  fix  a  day  for  their  departure.  They  had  no  pre- 
tensions to  judge  for  themselves,  and  referred  the  whole 
scheme  to  his  direction.  He  therefore  took  passage  in  a  ship 
to  Suez,  and  when  the  time  came,  with  great  difficulty  pre- 
vailed on  the  princess  to  enter  the  vessel.  They  had  a  quick 
tnd  prosperous  voyage ;  and  from  Suez  travelled  by  land  to 
Cairo. 

CHAP.  XVI. 

They  enter  Cairo,  andjind  every  Man  happy. 

As  they  approached  the  city,  which  filled  the  strangers  with 
astonishment,  "  This,"  said  Imlac  to  the  prince,  "  is  the 
olace  where  travellers  and  merchants  assemble  from  all  cor- 
ners of  the  earth.  You  will  here  find  men  of  every  charac- 
ter, and  every  occupation.  Commerce  is  here  honorable : 
I  will  act  as  merchant,  and  you  shall  live  as  strangers, 
who  have  no  other  end  of  travel  than  curiosity  ;  it  will  soon 
be  observed  that  we  are  rich :  our  reputation  will  procure  us 
access  to  all  whom  we  shall  desire  to  know;  you  shall  see  all 
the  conditions  of  humanity,  and  enable  yourselves  at  leisure 
to  make  your  choice  of  life." 

They  now  entered  the  town,  stunned  by  the  noise,  and  of- 
fended by  the  crowds.  Instruction  had  not  yet  so  prevailed 
over  habit,  but  thai  they  wondered  to  see  themselves  pass 
un  listinguishod  along  the  streets,  and  met  by  the  lowest  01 


RASSELAS.  3'i 

the  people  without  reverence  or  notice.  The  princess  could 
not  at  first  bear  the  thought  of  being  levelled  with  the  vulgar, 
and  for  some  time  continued  in  her  chamber,  where  she  was 
served  by  her  favorite,  Pekuah,  as  in  the  palace  of  the  vat- 
ley. 

Imlac,  who  understood  traffic,  sold  part  of  the  jewels 
the  next  day,  and  hired  a  house,  which  he  adorned  with 
such  magnificence,  that  he  was  immediately  considered 
as  a  merchant  of  great  wealth.  His  politeness  attracted 
many  acquaintance,  and  his  generosity  made  him  courted  by 
many  dependants.  His  companions,  not  being  able  to  mix  in 
the  conversation,  could  n*a,ke  no  discovery  of  their  ignorance 
or  surprise,  and  were  gradually  initiated  in  the  world,  as  they 
gained  knowledge  of  the  language. 

The  prince  had,  by  frequent  lectures,  been  taught  the  use 
and  nature  of  money  ;  but  the  ladies  could  not,  for  a  long  time 
comprehend  what  the  merchants  did  with  small  pieces  of  gold 
and  silver,  or  wh»y  things  of  so  little  use  should  be  received 
as  an  equivalent  to  the  necessaries  of  life. 

They  studied  the  language  two  years,  while  Imlac  was  - 
preparing  to  set  before  them  the  various  ranks  and  conditions 
of  mankind.  He  grew  acquainted  with  all  who  had  any  thing 
uncommon  in  their  fortune  or  conduct.  He  frequented  the 
voluptuous  and  the  frugal,  the  idle  and  the  busy,  the  merchants 
and  the  men  of  learning. 

The  prince  now  being  able  to  converse  with  fluency^,  and 
having  learned  die  caution  necessary  to  be  observed  in  his 
intercourse  with  strangers,  began  to  accompany  Imlac  to 
places  of  resort,  and  to  enter  into  all  assemblies,  that  he 
might  make  his  choice  of  life. 

For  some  time  he  thought  choice  needless,  because  all  ap- 
peared to  him  really  happy.     Wherever  he  went  he  met  gay- 
ety  and  kindness,  and  heard  the  song  of  joy  or  the  laugh  of 
carelessness.     He  began  to  believe  that  the  world  overflowed    , 
with  universal  plenty,  and  that  nothing  was  withheld  either    * 
from  want  or  merit ;  that  every  hand  showered  liberality,  and 
every  heart  melted  with  benevolence :  "  and  who  then,"  says 
he,  «  will  be  suffered  to  be  wretched  T\ 

Imlac  permitted  the  pleasing  delusion,  and  was  unwilling 
to  crush  the  hope  of  inexperience  :  till  one  day,  having  sat  a 
while  silent,  "I  know  not,"  said  the  prince,  "  what  can  be 
the  reason  that  I  am  more  unhappy  than  any  of  our  friends 
I  see  them  perpetually  and  unalterably  cfaserful,  but  feel  my 
own  mind  restless  and  uneasy.  I  am  ^satisfied  with  those 
pleasures  which  I  seem  most  to  court.  I  live  in  the  crowds 
3 


34  RASSELAS. 

of  jollity,  not  so  mucn  to  enjoy  company  as  to  shun  myself 
and  am  only  loud  and  merry  to  conceal  my  sadness." 

"  Every  man,"  said  Imlac,  "  may,  by  examining  his  own 
mind,  guess  what  passes  ia  the  minds  of  others :  when  you 
feel  that  your  own  gayety  is  counterfeit,  it  may  justly  lead  you 
to  suspect  that  of  your  companions  not  to  be  sincere.  Envy 
is  commonly  reciprocal.  We  are  long  before  we  are  con- 
vinced that  happiness  is  never  to  be  found,  and  each  believes 
it  possessed  by  others,  to  keep  alive  the  hope  of  obtaining  it 
for  himself.  In  the  assembly,  where  you  passed  the  last 
night,  there  appeared  such  sprightliness  of  air,  and  volatility 
of  fancy,  as  might  have  suited  beings  of  a  higher  order,  forme'd 
to  inhabit  serener  regions,  inaccessible  to  care  or  sorrow  :  yet. 
believe  me,  prince,  there  was  not  one  who  did  not  dread  the 
moment  when  solitude  should  deliver  him  to  the  tyranny  of 
reflection." 

"  This,"  said  the  prince,  "  may  be  true  of  others,  since  it  ia 
true  of  me ;  yet,  whatever  be  the  general  infelicity  of  man, 
one  condition  is  more  happy  than  another,  and  wisdom  surely 
^directs  us  to  take  the  least  evil  in  the  choice  of  life" 

"  The  causes  of  good  and  evil,"  answered  Imlac,  "  are  so 
various  and  uncertain,  so  often  entangled  with  each  other,  so 
'  diversified  by  various  relations,  and  so  much  subject  to  acci- 
"i  dents  which  cannot  be  foreseen,  that  he  who  would  fix  his 
condition  upon  incontestable  reasons  of  preference,  must  live 


and  die  inquiring  and  deliberating." 
"But  surely,"  said  ~ 


ely,"  said  Rasselas,  "  the  wise  men,  to  whom  we 
listen  with  reverence  and  wonder,  chose  that  mode  of  life 
for  themselves  which  they  thought  most  likely  to  make  them 
happy." 

"  Very  few,"  said  the  poet,  "  live  by  choice.  Every  man 
is  placed  in  the  present  condition  by  causes  which  acted  with- 
out  his  f°resignt)  an^  w"n  which  he  did  not  always  willingly 
co-operatej)  and  therefore  you  will  rarely  meet  one  who  doea 
t  think  the  lot  of  his  neighbor  better  than  his  own." 
"  I  am  pleased  to  think,"  said  the  prince,  "  that  my  birth 
has  given  me  at  least  one  advantage  over  others,  by  enabling 
me  to  determine  for  myself.  I  have  here  the  world  before 
me  •  I  will  review  it  at  leisure  :  surely  happiness  is  somewher* 
o  be  found."' 


RASSELAS.  35 


CHAP.  XVII. 
The  Prince  associates  with  young  Men  nj  spirit  and  gayety. 

RASSELAS  rose  next  day,  and  resolve*!  to  begin  his  experi- 
ments upon  life.  "  Youth,"  cried  he,  "  is  the  time  of  glad- 
ness :  I  will  join  myself  to  the  young  men,  whose  only  busi- 
ness is  to  gratify  their  desires,  and  whose  time  is  all  spent  in 
a  succession  of  enjoyments." 

To  such  societies  he  was  readily  admitted  ;  but  a  few  days 
brought  him  back  weary  and  disgusted.  Their  mirth  was 
without  images,  their  laughter  without  motive  ;  their  plea- 
sures were  gross  and  sensual,  in  which  the  mind  had  no  part ; 
their  conduct  was  at  once  wild  and  mean ;  they  laughed  at 
order  and  at  law,  but  the  frown  of  power  dejected,  and  the  eye 
of  wisdom  abashed  them. 

The  prince  soon  concluded  that  he  should  never  be  happy 
in  a  course  of  life  of  which  he  was  ashamed.  He  thought  it 
unsuitable  to  a  reasonable  being  to  act  without  a  plan,  and  to 
be  sad  or  cheerful  only  by  r.hance.  "Happiness,"  said  he, 
"  must  be  something  solid  and  permanent,  without  fear  and 
without  uncertainty." 

But  his  young  companions  had  gained  so  much  of  his  re- 
gard by  their  frankness  and  courtesy,  that  he  could  not  leav* 
them  without  warning  and  remonstrance.  "  IVly  friends,* 
said  he,  "  I  have  seriously  considered  our  manners  arid  out 
prospects,  and  find  that  we  have  mistaken  our  own  interest , 
the  first  years  of  man  must  make  provision  for  the  last.  He 
that  never  thinks,  never  can  be  wise.  Perpetual  levity  must 
end  in  ignorance ;  and  intemperance,  though  it  may  fire  the 
fepirits  for  an  hour,  will  make  life  short  or  miserable.  Let  us 
consider  that  youth  is  of  no  long  duration,  and  that  in  mature 
age,  when  the  enchantments  of  fancy  shall  cease,  and  phan- 
toms of  delight  dance  no  more  about  us,  we  shall  have  no 
comforts  but  the  esteem  of  wise  men,  and  the  means  of  doing 
good.  Let  us,  therefore,  stop,  while  to  stop  is  in  our  pow- 
er :  let  us  live  as  men  who  are  some  time  to  grow  old,  and  to 
whom  it  will  be  the  most  dreadful  of  all  evils  to  count  their  past 
years  by  follies,  and  to  be  reminded  of  their  former  luxuriance 
of  health  only  by  the  maladies  which  riot  has  produced." 

They  stared  awhile  in  silence  one  upon  another,  and,  at 


36  RASSELAS. 

last,  drove  him  away  by  a  general  chorus  of  continued  laugh- 
ter. 

The  consciousness  that  his  sentiments  were  just,  and  M» 
intention  kind,  was  scarcely  sufficient  to  support  him  against 
the  horror  of  derision.  But  he  recovered  his  tranquillity,  and 
pursued  his  search. 


g 
h 


CHAP.  XVIII. 

The  Prince  Jinds  a  wise  and  happy  Man. 
As  he  was  one  day  walking  in  the  street,  he  saw  a  spacious 
building,  which  all  were,  by  the  open  doors,  invited  to  enter  ; 
he  followed  the  stream  of  people,  and  found  it  a  hall  or  school 
of  declamation,  in  which  professors  read  lectures  to  their  au- 
ditory. He  fixed  his  eye  upon  a  sage  raised  above  the  rest, 
who  discoursed  with  great  energy  on  the  government  of  the 
passions.  His  look  was  venerable,  his  action  graceful,  his 
pronunciation  clear,  and  his  diction  elegant.  He  sbowed,  with 
reat  strength  of  sentiment,  and  variety  of  illustration,  tha* 
uman  nature  is  degraded  and  debased,  when  the  lower  facul- 
es  predominate  over  the  higher  ;  that  when  fancy,  the  parent 
of  passion,  usurps  the  dominion  of  the  mind,  nothing  ensues 
but  the  natural  effect  of  unlawful  government,  perturbation; 
and  confusion  ;  that  she  betrays  the  fortresses  of  the  intellect 
to  rebels,  and  excites  her  children  to  sedition  against  their 
lawful  sovereign.  He  compared  reason  to  the  sun,  of  which 
the  light  is  constant,  uniform,  and  lasting  ;  and  fancy  to  a 
meteor,  of  bright,  but  transitory  lustre,  irregular  in  its  mo- 
tion and  delusive  in  its  direction. 

He  then  communicated  the  various  precepts  given  from 
time  to  time  for  the  conquest  of  passion,  and  displayed  the 
happiness  of  those  who  had  obtained  the  important  victory, 
after  which  man  is  no  longer  the  slave  of  fear,  nor  the  fool  of 
hope;  is  no  more  emaciated  by  envy,  inflamed  by  anger, 
emasculated  by  tenderness,  or  depressed  by  grief;  but  walks 
on  calmly  through  the  tumults  or  privacies  of  life,  as  the  sun 
pursues  alike  his  course  through  the  calm  or  the  stormy  sky. 
He  enumerated  many  examples  of  heroes  immoveable  by 
pain  or  pleasure,  who  looked  with  indifference  on  those  modes 
or  accidents  to  which  the  vulgar  give  the  names  of  good  and 
evil.  He  exhorted  his  hearers  to  lay  aside  their  prejudices, 
and  arm  themselves  against  the  shafts  of  malice  or  misfortune, 
by  invulnerable  patience  :  concluding,  that  this  state  only 
was  happiness,  and  that  this  happiness  was  in  every  one  s 
power." 


RASSELAS.  3 

Rasselas  listened  to  him  with  the  veneration  due  to  the  in- 
structions of  a  superior  being,  and,  waiting  for  him  at  the  door 
humbly  implored  the  liberty  of  visiting  so  great  a  master  o 
true  wisdom.  The  lecturer  hesitated  a  moment,  when  Ras» 
selas  put  a  purse  of  gold  into  his  hand,  which  he  received  with 
a  mixture  of  joy  and  wonder. 

"  I  have  found,"  said  the  prince,  at  his  return  to  Imlac,  "  a 
man  who  can  teach  all  that  is  necessary  to  be  known  ;  who, 
from  the  unshaken  throne  of  rational  fortitude,  looks  down  on 
the  scenes  of  life  changing  beneath  him.  He  speaks,  and  at- 
tention watches  his  lips.  He  reasons,  and  conviction  closes 
his  periods.  This  man  shall  be  my  future  guide :  I  will  learn 
his  doctrines,  and  imitate  his  life." 

"  Be  not  too  hasty,"  said  Imlac,  "  to  trust,  or  to  admire, 
the  teachers  of  morality :  they  discourse  like  angels,  but  they 
live  like  men." 

RasseTas,  who  could  not  conceive  how  any  man  could  rea- 
son so  forcibly  without  feeling  the  cogency  of  his  own  argu- 
ments, paid  his  visit  in  a  few  days,  and  was  denied  admission. 
He  had  now  learned  the  power  of  money,  and  made  his  way 
by  a  piece  of  gold  to  the  inner  apartment,  where  he  found  the 
philosopher  in  a  room  half  darkened,  with  his  eyes  misty,  and 
his  face  pale.  "  Sir,"  said  he,  "you  are  come  at  a  time  when 
all  human  friendship  is  useless  :  what  I  suffer  cannot  be  re- 
medied, what  I  have  lost  cannot  be  supplied.  My  daughter, 
my  only  daughter,  from  whose  tenderness  I  expected  all  the 
comforts  of  my  age,  died  last  night  of  a  fever.  My  views,  my 
purposes,  my  hopes  are  at  an  end  :  I  am  now  a  lonely  being, 
disunited  from  society."  » 

"  Sir,"  said  the  prince,  "  mortality  is  an  event  by  which  a  I 
wise  man  can  never  be  surprised  :  we  know  that  death  is  al-  I 
ways  near,  and  it  should  therefore  always  be  expected." —  I 
"  Young  man,"  answered  the  philosopher,  "  you  speak  like   ' 
one  that  has  never  felt  the  pangs  of  separation."  "Have  you 
then  forgot  the  precepts,"  said  Rasselas,  "  which  you  so 
powerfully  enforced  ?     Has  wisdom  no  strength  to  arm  the 
heart  against  calamity?     Consider  that  external  things  are 
naturally  variable,  but  truth  and  reason  are  always  the  same.*' 
"  What  comfort,"  said  the  mourner,  u  can  truth  arid  reason 
afford  me  ? — of  what  effect  are  they  now,  but  to  tell  me.  that 
my  daughter  will  not  be  restored  ?" 

The  prince,  whose  humanity  would  not  suffer  him  to  insult 
misery  with  reproof  went  away,  convinced  of  the  emptinesi 


38  RASSELAS. 

of  rhetorical  sounds,  and  the  inefficacy  of  polished  period* 
and  studied  sentences. 


CHAP.  XIX. 
A  Glimpse  of  Pastoral  Life. 

HE  was  still  eager  upon  the  same  inquiry  ;  and  having 
heard  of  a  hermit,  that  lived  near  the  lowest  cataract  of  th» 
Nile,  and  filled  the  whole  country  with  the  fame  of  his  sane, 
tity,  resolved  to  visit  his  retreat,  and  inquire  whether  that  fe- 
licity, which  public  life  could  not  afford,  was  to  be  found  in 
solitnde  ;  and  whether  a  man,  whose  age  and  virtues  made 
him  venerable,  could  teach  any  peculiar  art  of  shunning  evils, 
or  enduring  them. 

Imlac  and  the  princess  agreed  to  accompany  him ;  ana 
after  the  necessary  preparations,  they  began  their  journey. 
Their  way  lay  through  the  fields,  where  shepherds  tended 
their  flocks,  and  the  lambs  were  playing  upon  the  pasture. 
u  This,"  said  the  poet,  "  is  the  life  which  has  been  often  ce- 
lebrated for  its  innocence  and  quiet ;  let  us  pass  the  heat  of 
the  day  among  the  shepherds'  tents,  and  know  whether  all 
our  searches  are  not  to  terminate  in  pastoral  simplicity." 

The  proposal  pleased  them,  and  they  induced  the  shep- 
herds, by  small  presents  and  familiar  questions,  to  tell  the 
opinion  of  their  own  state  :  they  were  so  rude  and  ignorant, 
so  little  able  to  compare  the  good  with  the  evil  of  the  occupa- 
tion, and  so  indistinct  in  their  narratives  and  descriptions,  that 
very  little  could  be  learned  from  them.  But  it  was  evident 
that  their  hearts  were  cankered  with  discontent^  that  they 
considered  themselves  as  condemned  to  labor  for  the  luxury  of 
the  rich,  and  looked  up  with  stupid  malevolence  towards  those 
that  were  placed  above  them. 

The  princess  pronounced  with  vehemence,  that  she  would 
never  suffer  these  envious  savages  to  be  her  companions,  and 
that  she  should  not  soon  be  desirous  of  seeing  any  more  spe- 
cimens of  rustic  happiness  ;  but  could  not  believe  that  all  the 
accounts  of  primeval  pleasures  were  fabulous,  and  was  in 
doubt  whether  life  had  anything  that  could  he  justly  preferred 
to  the  placid  gratifications  of  fields  and  woods.  She  hoped  that 
the  time  would  come,  when,  with  a  few  virtuous  and  elegant 
companions,  she  should  gather  flowers  planted  by  her  own 
hands,  fondle  the  lambs  of  her  own  ewe,  and  listen  without 
care,  among  brooks  and  breezes,  to  one  of  her  maidens  read- 
ing in  the  shade. 


RASSELAS. 


CHAP.  XX. 

The  Danger  of  Prosperity. 

ON  the  next  day  they  continued  their  journey,  till  the  heat 
compelled  them  to  look  round  for  shelter.  At  a  small  distance 
/iey  saw  a  thick  wood,  which  they  no  sooner  entered  than 
mey  perceived  they  were  approaching  the  habitations  of  men. 
The  shrubs  were  diligently  cut  away  to  open  walks  wh«re 
the  shades  were  darkest ;  the  boughs  of  opposite  trees  were  - 
artificially  interwoven,  seats  of  flowery  turf  were  raised  in  va- 
cant spaces,  and  a  rivulet,  that  wantoned  along  the  side  of  a 
winding  path,  had  its  banks  sometimes  opened  into  small  ba- 
sins, and  its  streams  sometimes  obstructed  by  little  mounds 
of  stone  heaped  together  to  increase  its  murmurs. 

They  passed  slowly  through  the  wood,  delighted  with  such 
unexpected  accommodations,  and  entertained  each  other  with 
conjecturing  what,  or  who,  he  could  be,  that  in  those  rude 
and  unfrequented  regions  had  leisure  and  art  for  such  harm- 
less luxury. 

As  they  advanced  they  heard  the  sound  of  music,  and  saw 
youths  and  virgins  dancing  in  the  grove  ;  and,  going  still  far-  ., 
ther,  beheld  a  stately  palace  built  upon  a  hill,  surrounded  with 
woods.  The  laws  of  eastern  hospitality  allowed  them  to  en- 
ter, and  the  master  welcomed  them  like  a  man  liberal  and 
wealthy. 

He  was  skilful  enough  in  appearances  soon  to  discern  that 
they  were  no  common  guests,  and  spread  his  table  with  mag- 
nificence.    The  eloquence  of  Imlac  caught  his  attention,  and  I 
tne  lofty  courtesy  of  the  princess  excited  his  respect.  When  | 
they  offered  to  depart,  he  entreated  their  stay,  and  was  the 
next  day  more  unwilling  to  dismiss  them  than  before.    They 
were  easily  persuaded  to  stop,  and  civility  grew  up  in  time  to 
freedom  and  confidence. 

The  prince  now  saw  all  the  domestics  cheerful,  and  all  the 
face  of  nature  smiling  round  the  place,  and  could  not  forbear 
to  hope  that  he  should  find  here  what  he  was  seeking :  but 
when  he  was  congratulating  the  master  upon  his  possessions,  -••••»• 
he  answered  with  a  sigh,  "  My  condition  has  indeed  the  ap- 
pearance of  happiness,  but  appearances  are  delusive.  My 
prosperity  puts  my  life  in  danger;  the  Bassa  of  Egypt  is  my 
<memy,  incensed  only  by  my  wealth  and  popularity.  I  have 


40  RASSELAS, 

been  hitherto  protected  against  him  by  the  princess  of  the 
country  :  but,  as  the  favor  of  the  great  is  uncertain,  I  know 
not  how  soon  my  defenders  may  be  persuaded  to  share  the 
plunder  with  the  Bassa.  I  have  sent  my  treasures  into  a 
distant  country,  and,  upon  the  first  alarm,  am  prepared  to  fol- 
low them.  Then  will  my  enemies  riot  in  my  mansion,  and 
enjoy  the  gardens  wnich  I  have  planted." 

They  all  joined  in  lamenting  his  danger,  and"  deprecating 
his  exile ;  and  the  princess  was  so  much  disturbed  with  the  tu- 
mult of  grief  and  indignation,  that  she  retired  to  her  apart- 
ment. They  continued  with  their  kind  inviter  a  few  days 
longer,  and  then  went  to  find  the  hermit. 


CHAP.  XXI. 
The  Happiness  of  Solitude.     The  Hermit's  History. 

THEY  came,  on  tne  third  day,  by  the  direction  of  the 
peasants,  to  the  hermit's  cell :  it.  was  a  cavern  in  .the  side  of  a 
mountain,  overshadowed  with  palm  trees ;  at  such  a  distance 
from  the  cataract,  that  nothing  more  was  heard  than  a  gentle 
uniform  murmur,  such  as  composed  the  mind  to  pensive  me- 
ditation, especially  when  it  was  assisted  by  the  wind  whist- 
ling among  the  branches.  The  first  rude  essay  of  nature  had 
been  so  much  improved  by  human  labor,  that  the  cave  con- 
tained several  apartments  appropriated  to  different  uses,  and 
often  afforded  lodging  to  travellers,  whom  darkness  or  tem- 
pests happened  to  overtake. 

The  hermit  sat  on  a  bench  at  the  door,  to  enjoy  the  cool- 
ness of  the  evening.  On  one  side  lay  a  book  with  pens  and 
paper,  on  the  other  mechanical  instruments  of  various  kinds. 
As  they  approached  him  unregarded,  the  princess  observed 
that  lie  had  not  the  countenance  of  a  man.  that  had  found  or 
could  teach  the  way  to  happiness. 

They  saluted  him  with  great  respect,  which  he  repaid  like 
a  man  not  unaccustomed  to  the  forms  of" courts.  "  My  chil- 
dren," said  he,  "  if  you  have  lost  your  way,  you  shall  be  wil- 
lingly supplied  with  such  conveniences  for  the  night  as  this 
cavern  will  afford.  I  have  all  that  nature  requires,  and  you 
will  not  expect  delicacies  in  a  hermit's  cell." 

They  thanked  him  ;  and",  entering,  were  pleased  with  the 
neatness  and  regularity  of  the  place.  The  hermit  set  flesh 
and  wine  before  them,  though  he  fed  only  upoa  fruits  and  wa- 
ter. His  discourse  was  cheerful  without  levity,  and  pious 


RASSELAS.  4* 

without  enthusiasm.  He  soon  gained  the  esteem  of  his  guests, 
and  the  princess  repented  her  nasty  censure. 

At  last  Imlac  began  thus  :  "  I  do  not  now  wonder  that 
your  reputation  is  so  far  extended  :  we  have  heard  at  Cairo 
of  your  wisdom,  and  came  hither  to  implore  your  direction  for 
this  young  man  and  maiden  in  the  choice  of  life" 

"  To  him  that  lives  well,"  answered  the  hermit,  "  every 
form  of  life  is  good ;  nor  can  I  give  any  other  rule  for  choice,  f 
than  to  remove  from  all  apparent  evil." 

"  He  will  most  certainly  remove  from  evil,"  said  the  prince,  ^ 
I"  who  shall  devote  himself  to  that  solitude  which  you  have 
'  recommended  by  your  example." 

"  I  have  indeed  lived  fifteen  years  in  solitude,"  said  the 
hermit,  "  but  have  no  desire  that  my  example  should  gain  any 
imitators.  In  my  youth  I  professed  arms,  and  «vas  raised  by 
degrees  to  the  highest  military  rank.  I  have*  traversed  wide 
countries  at  the  head  of  my  troops,  and  seen  many  battles  and 
sieges.  At  last,  being  disgusted  by  the  preferments  of  a 
younger  officer,  and  feeling  that  my  vigor  was  beginning  to 
decay,  I  resolved  to  close  my  life  in  peace,  having  found  the 
world  full  of  snares,  discord,  and  misery.  I  had  once  escaped 
from  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  by  the  shelter  of  this  cavern, 
and  therefore  chose  it  for  my  nnal  residence.  I  employed  ar- 
tificers to  form  it  into  chambers,  and  stored  it  with  all  that  I 
was  likely  to  want. 

"  For  some  time  after  my  retreat,  I  rejoiced  like  a  tempest- 
beaten  sailor  at  his  entrance  into  the  harbor,  being  delighted 
with  the  sudden  change  of  the  noise  and  hurry  of  war  to  still- 
ness and  repose.  When  the  pleasure  of  novelty  went  away,** 
I  employed  my  hours  in  examining  the  plants  which  grow  m 
the  valley,  and  the  minerals  which  I  collected  from  the  rocks. 
But  that  inquiry  is  now  grown  tasteless  and  irksome.  I  have 
been  for  some  time  unsettled  and  distracted  :  my  mind  is  dis- 
turbed with  a  thousand  perplexities  of  doubt,  and  vanities  of 
imagination,  which  hourly  prevail  upon  me,  because  I  have 
no  opportunities  of  relaxation  or  diversion.  I  am  sometimes 
ashamed  to  think  that  I  could  not  secure  myself  from  vice  but. 
by  retiring  from  the  exercise  of  virtue,  ana  begin  to  suspect 
that  I  was  rather  impelled  by  resentment  than  led  by  devo- 
tion into  solitude.  My  fancy  riots  in  scenes  of  folly  ;  and  I 
lament  that  I  have  lost  so  much,  and  have  gained  so  little.  In 
solitude,  if  I  escape  the  example  of  bad  men,  I  want  likewise 
the  counsel  and  conversation  of  the  good.  I  have  been  long 
comparing  the  evils  with  the  advantages  of  society,  and  re- 
solve to  return  into  the  world  to-morrow,  The  life  of  a  soli- 


42  RASSELAS. 

tary  man  will  be  certainly  miserable,  but    not   certain* 
devout." 

They  heard  his  resolution  with  surprise,  hut,  after  a  shor 
pause,  offered  to  conduct  him  to  Cairo.  He  dug  up  a  co»» 
siderable  treasure  which  he  had  hid  among  the  rocks,  arid  ac- 
companied them  to  the  city,  on  which,  as  he  approached  . 
he  gazed  with  rapture. 

CHAP.  XXII. 

The  Happiness  of  a  Life  led  according  to  Nature.         f 

RASSELAS  went  often  to  an  assembly  of  learned  men,  who 
""met  at  stated  times  to  unbend  their  rninds  and  compare  their 
opinions.  Their  manners  were  somewhat  coarse,  but  their 
conversation  was  instructive,  and  their  disputations  acute, 
though  sometimes  too  violent,  and  often  continued  till  neither 
controvertist  remembered  upon  what  question  they  began. 
Some  faults  were  almost  general  among  them :  every  one  ' 
was  desirous  to  dictate  to  the  rest,  and  every  one  was  pleased 
to  hear  the  genius  or  knowledge  of  another  depreciated. 

In  this  assembly  Rasselas  was  relating  his  interview  with 
the  hermit,  and  the  wonder  with  which  he  heard  him  censure 
A  course  of  life  which  he  had  so  deliberately  chosen,  and  so 
laudably  followed.  The  sentiments  of  the  hearers  were  va- 
rious. Some  were  of  opinion,  that  the  folly  of  his  choice  had 
been  justly  punished  by  condemnation  to  perpetual  persever- 
ance. One  of  the  youngest  among  them,  with  great  vehe- 
mence, pronounced  him  a  hypocrite.  Some  talked  of  the 
right  of  society  to  the  labor  of  individuals,  and  considered  re- 
tirement as  a  desertion  of  duty.  Others  readily  allowed,  that 
there  was  a  time  when  the  claims  of  the  public  were  satisfied, 
and  when  a  man  might  properly  sequester  himself  to  review 
his  life,  and  purify  his  heart. 

One,  who  appeared  more  affected  with  the  narrative 
than  the  rest,  thought  it  likely  that  the  hermit  would,  in  a 
few  years,  go  back  to  his  retreat,  and,  perhaps,  if  shame 
did  not  restrain,  or  death  intercept  him,  return  once  more 
from  his  retreat  into  the  world.  "  For  the  hope  of  happi- 
ness," said  he,  "  is  so  strongly  impressed,  that  the  longest 
experience  is  not  able  to  efface  it.  Of  the  present  state, 
whatever  it  be,  we  feel,  and  are  forced  to  confess,  the  mi- 
sery ;  yet,  when  the  same  state  is  again  at  a  distance,  ima- 
gination paints  it  as  desirable.  But  the  time  will  surely 


RASSELAS.  43 

come,  when  desire  will  no  longer  be  our  torment,  ana  no 
man  shall  bo  wretched  but  by  his  own  fault." 

"  This,"  said  a  philosopher,  who  had  heard  him  with  to» 
kens  of  great  impatience,  "  is  the  present  condition  of  a 
wise  man.  The  time  is  already  come,  when  none  are 
wretched  but  by  their  own  fault.  Nothing  is  more  idle 
than  to  inquire  after  happiness,  which  nature  has  kindly 
placed  within  our  reach,  f  The  way  to  be  happy,  is  to  live  •••• 
according  to  nature,  |  in  "obedience  to  that  universal  and 
unalterable  law  wrttrrvhich  every  heart  is  originally  impress- 
ed ;  which  is  not  written  on  it  by  precept,  but  engraven 
by  destiny ;  not  instilled  by  education,  but  infused  at  our 
nativity.  He  that  lives  according  to  nature  will  suffer  no- 
thing from  the  delusions  of  hope  or  importunities  of  desire  , 
he  will  receive  and  reject  with  equability  of  temper ;  and  act 
or  sutfer  as  the  reason  of  things  shall  alternately  prescribe. 
Other  men  may  amuse  themselves  with  subtle  definitions,  or 
intricate  ratiocination.  Let  them  learn  to  be  wise  by  easier 
means  :  let  them  observe  the  hind  of  the  forest,  and  the 
linnet  of  the  grove  :  let  them  consider  the  life  of  animals, 
whose  motions  are  regulated  by  instinct;  they  obey  their 
guide,  and  are  happy.  Let  us,  therefore,  at  length,  cease 
to  dispute,  and  learn  to  live  :  throw  away  the  incumbrance 
of  precepts,  which  they  who  utter  them  with  so  much  pride 
and  pomp,  do  not  understand,  and  carry  with  us  this  simple 
and  intelligible  maxim,  That  deviation  from  nature,  is  de- 
viation from  happiness." 

When  he  had  spoken,  he  looked  round  him  with  a  placid 
air,  and  enjoyed  the  consciousness  of  his  own  beneficence. 
"  Sir,"  said  the  prince,  with  great  modesty,  u  as  I,  like  all 
the  rest  of  mankind,  am  desirous  of  felicity,  my  closest  at- 
tention has  been  fixed  upon  your  discourse  :  I  doubt  not  the 
truth  of  a  position  which  a  man  so  learned  has  so  confidently 
advanced.  Let  me  only  know  what  it  is  to  live  according 
to  nature." 

"  When  I  find  young  men  so  humble  and  so  docile,"  said 
the  philosopher,  "  I  can  deny  them  no  information  which 
my  studies  have  enabled  me  to  afford.  1  To  live  according 
to  nature,  is  to  act  always  with  due  regard  to  the  fitness 
arising  from  the  relations  and  qualities  of  causes  and  effects  ; 
to  concur  with  the  great  and  unchangeable  scheme  of  uni- 
versal felicity ;  to  co-operate  with  the  general  disposition 
and  tendency  of  the  present  system  of  things."  i 

The  prince  soon  found  that  this  was  one  of  the  sages 
whom  he  should  understand  less  as  he  heard  him  longer. 


44  RASSKLAS. 

He  therefore  bowed  and  was  silent ;  and  the  philosopher, 
supposing  him  satisfied,  and  the  rest  vanquished,  rose  up 
and  departed  with  the  air  of  a  man  that  had  co-operated 
with  the  present  system. 

CHAP.  XXIII. 
The  Prince  and  his  Sister  divide  between  them  the  Work  of 

Observation. 

RASSELAS  returned  home  full  of  reflections,  doubting 
how  to  direct  his  future  steps.  Of  the  way  to  happiness  he 
found  the  learned  and  simple  equally  ignorant ;  but,  as  he 
was  yet  young,  he  flattered  himself  'that  he  had  time  remain- 
ing for  more  experiments,  and  farther  inquiries.  He  com- 
municated to  Imlac  his  observations  and  his  doubts,  but  was 
answered  by  him  with  new  doubts,  and  remarks  that  gave 
him  no  comfort.  He  therefore  discoursed  more  frequently 
and  freely  with  his  sistei,  w«o  had  yet  the  same  hope  with 
himself,  and  always  assisted  him  to  give  some  reason  why, 
though  he  had  been  hitherto  frustrated,  he  might  succeed 
at  last. 

"  We  have  hitherto,"  said  she,  "  known  but  little  of  the 
world  ;  we  have  never  vet  been  either  great  or  mean.  In 
our  own  country,  though  we  had  royalty,  we  had  no  power ; 
and  in  this  we  have  not  yet  seen  the  private  recesses  of 
domestic  peace.  Imlac  favors  not  our  search,  lest  we 
should  in  time  find  him  mistaken.  f  We  will  divide  the  task 
between  us  :  you  shall  try  what  is  to  be  found  in  the  splen-, 
dor  of  courts,  and  I  will  range  the  shadej  of  humbler  life. I 
Perhaps  command  and  authority  may  be  the  supreme  bless- 
ings, as  they  afford  the  most  opportunities  of  doing  good  :  or, 
perhaps,  what  this  world  can  give  may  be  found  in  the 
modest  habitations  of  middle  fortune :  too  low  for  great 
designs,  and  too  high  for  peaury  and  distress. 

CHAP.  XXIV. 

The  Prince  examines  the  Happiness  of  High  Stations 
RASSELAS  applauded  the  design,  and  appeared  next  day 
with  a  splendid  retinue  at  the  court  of  the  Bassa.     He  was 
soon  distinguished  for  his  magnificence,  and  admitted,  as  a 
prince  whose  curiosity  had  brought  him  from  distant  coun- 
tries, to  an  intimacy  with  the  great  officers,  and  frequent 
conversation  with  the  Bassa  himself. 
we  was  at  first  inclined  to  believe,  that  the  man  must  be 


RASSELAfi.  45 

pleased  with  his  own  condition,  whom  all  approached  with 
reverence,  and  heard  with  obedience,  and  who  had  the  po\*» 
er  to  extend  his  edicts  to  a  whole  kingdom.  "  There  can 
be  no  pleasure,"  said  he,  u  equal  to  that  of  feeling  at  once 
the  joy  of  thousands  all  made  happy  by  wise  administration. 
Yet,  since,  by  the  law  of  subordination,  this  sublime  delight 
can  be  in  one  nation  but  the  lot  of  one,  it  is  surely  reasonable 
to  think  that  there  is  some  satisfaction  more  popular  and 
accessible,  and  that  millions  can  harriiy  be  subjected  to  the 
will  of  a  single  man,  only  to  fill  his  particular  breast  with 
incommunicable  content." 

These  thoughts  were  often  in  his  miner,  and  he  found  no 
solution  of  the  difficulty.  But  as  pr^frut.?.  and  civilities 
gained  him  more  familiarity,  he  fourr!  thai  inmost  every 
man  who  stood  high  in  emplovmen'  baied  a  '  ti-e  rest,  am? 
was  hated  by  them,  and  that  their  lives  were  a  continual 
succession  of  plots  and  detections,  stratagems  and  escapes, 
faction  and  treachery.  Many  of  those  who  surrounded  the 
Bassa  were  sent  only  to  watch  and  report  his  conduct : 
every  tongue  was  muttering  censure,  and  every  eye  was 
searching  for  a  fault. 

At  last  the  letters  of  revocation  arrived,  the  Bassa  was 
carried  in  chains  to  Constantinople,  and  his  name  was  men 
tioned  no  more. 

"  What  are  we  now  to  think  of  the  prerogatives  of  pow- 
er ?"  said  Rasselas  to  his  sister  :  "  is  it  without  any  efficacy 
to  good  ?  or,  is  the  subordinate  degree  only  dangerous,  and 
the  supreme  safe  and  glorious?  Is  the  Sultan  the  only 
happy  man  in  his  dominions  ?  or  is  the  Sultan  himself  sub- 
ject to  the  torments  of  suspicion,  and  the  dread  of  enemies?" 

In  a  short  time  the  second  Bassa  was  deposed.  The 
Sultan  that  had  advanced  him  was  murdered  by  the  Janiza 
nes,  and  his  successor  had  other  views  and  different  fa- 
vorites. 


CHAP.  XXV. 

The  Princess  pursues  her  Inquiry  with  more  Diligence  than 
Success. 

THE  princess,  in  the  mean  time,  insinuated  herself  into 
many  families  :  for  there  are  few  doors  through  which  li- 
berality, joined  with  good  humor,  cannot  find  its  way.  The 
daughters  of  many  houses  were  airy  and  cheerful ;  but 
Nekayah  had  been  too  long  accustomed  to  the  conversation 


46  RAfeSELAS. 

of  Imlac  and  her  brother,  to  be  much  pleased  with  childish 
levity  and  prattle  which  had  no  meaning.  She  found  their 
thoughts  narrow,  their  wishes  low,  and  their  merriment  often 
artih'cial.  Their  pleasures,  poor  as  they  were,  could  not 
be  preserved  pure,  but  were  imbittered  by  petty  competi- 
tions and  worthless  emulation.  They  were  always  jealous 
of  the  beauty  of  each  other  ;  of  a  quality  to  which  solicitude 
can  add  nothing,  and  from  which  detraction  can  take  nothing 
away.  Many  were  in  love  with  triflers  like  themselves, 
and  many  fancied  that  they  were  in  love  when  in  truth  they 
were  only  idle.  Their  affection  was  not  fixed  on  sense  or 
virtue,  and  therefore  seldom  ended  but  in-  vexation.  Their 
grief,  however,  like  their  joy,  was  transient ;  every  thing 
floated  in  their  mind  unconnected  with  the  past  or  future,  so 
that  one  desire  easily  gave  way  to  anothet ,  as  a  second  stone 
cast  into  the  water  effaces  arid  confounds  the  circles  of 
the  first. 

With  these  girls  she  played  as  with  inoffensive  animals, 
and  found  them  proud  of  her  countenance,  and  weary  of 
her  company. 

But  her  purpose  was  to  examine  more  deeply,  arid  her 
affability  easily  persuaded  the  hearts  that  were  swelling 
with  sorrow  to  discharge  their  secrets  in  her  ear  ;  and  those 
whom  hope  flattered,  or  prosperity  delighted,  often  courted 
her  to  partake  their  pleasures. 

The  princess  and  her  brother  commonly  met  in  the  even- 
ing in  a  private  summer-house  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  and 
related  to  each  other  the  occurrences  of  the  day.  As  they 
were  sitting  together,  the  princess  cast  her  eyes  upon  the 
river  that  flowed  before  her.  "  Answer,"  said  she,  "  great 
father  of  waters,  thou  that  rollest  thy  floods  through  eighty 
nations,  to  the  invocations  of  the  daughter  of  thy  native  king  : 
tell  me  if  thou  waterest,  through  all  thy  course,  a  single 
habitation  from  which  thou  dost  not  hear  the  murmurs  of 
complaint?" 

"  You  are  then,"  said  Rasselas,  "  not  more  successful  in 
private  houses  than  I  have  been  in  courts."  "  I  have,  since 
the  last  partition  of  our  provinces,"  said  the  princess, 
"  enabled  myself  to  enter  familiarly  into  many  families, 
where  there  was  the  fairest  show  of  prosperity  and  peace, 
and  know  not  one  house  that  is  not  haunted  by  some  fury 
that  destroys  their  quiet. 

"  I  did  not  seek  ease  among  the  poor,  because  [  con- 
cluded that  there  it  could  not  be  found.  But  I  saw  many 
?oor  whom  I  had  supposed  to  live  in  affluence.  Poverty 


RASSELAS.  47 

has,  in  large  cities,  very  different  appearances  ;  it  is  often 
concealed  in  splendor,  and  often  in  extravagance.  It  is  the 
care  of  a  very  great  part  of  mankind  to  conceal  their  indi- 
gence from  the  rest :  they  support  themselves  by  temporary 
expedients,  and  every  day  is  lost  in  contriving  for  the  morrow. 
"  This  however,  was  an  evil,  which,  though  frequent,  I 
saw  with  less  pain,  because  I  could  relieve  it.  Yet  some 
have  refused  my  bounties ;  more  offended  with  my  quickness 
to  detect  their  wants,  than  pleased  with  my  readiness  to 
succour  them:  and  others,  whose  exigences  compelled 
them  to  admit,  my  kindness,  have  never  been  able  to  forgive 
their  benefactress.  Many,  however,  have  been  sincerely 
grateful  without  the  ostentation  of  gratitude,  or  the  hope  of 
other  favors." 


CHAP.  XXVI. 

The  Princess  continues  her  Remarks  upon  Private  Life. 

NEKAYAH,  perceiving  her  brother's  attention  fixed,  pro- 
ceeded in  her  narrative. 

"  In  families,  where  there  is  or  is  not  poverty,  there  is 
commonly  discord  :  if  a  kingdom  be,  as  Imlac  tells  us,  a 
great  family,  a  family  likewise  is  a  little  kingdom,  torn  with 
[actions  and  exposed  to  revolutions.  An  unpractised  obser- 
ver expects  the  love  of  parents  and  children  to  be  constant 
and  equal  :  but  this  kindness  seldom  continues  beyond  the 
years  of  infancy  :  in  a  short  time  the  children  become  rivals 
to  their  parents.  Benefits  are  allayed  by  reproaches,  and 
gratitude  debased  bv  envy. 

"  Parents  and  children  seldom  act  in  concert;  each  child 
endeavors  to  appropriate  the  esteem  or  fondness  of  the  pa- 
reats  ;  and  the  parents,  with  yet  less  temptation,  betray  each 
other  to  their  children  ;  thus  some  place  their  confidence  in 
the  father,  and  some  in  the  mother,  and  by  degrees  the  house 
is  filled  with  artifices  and  feuds. 

"  The  opinions  of  children  and  parents,  of  the  young  and  the 
old,  are  naturally  opposite,  by  the  contrary  effects  of  hope 
and  despondence,  of  expectation  arid  eJfyerience,  without 
crime  or  folly  on  either  side.  The  colors  of  life  in  youth  and 
age  appear  different,  as  the  face  of  nature  in  spring  and  win- 
ter. And  how  can  children  credit  the  assertions  of  parents, 
which  tht-ir  own  eyes  show  them  to  be  false  ? 

"  Few  parents  act  in  such  a  manner  as  much  to  enforce 
»lu-ir  n\a.\iius  Ity  the  credit  of  their  lives.  The  old  man  trusts 


49  RASSELAS. 

wholly  to  slow  contrivance  and  gradual  progression  ;  th«* 
youth  expects  to  force  his  way  by  genius,  vigor,  and  precipi- 
tance. The  old  man  pays  regard  to  riches,  and  the  youth 
reverences  virtue.  The  old  man  deifies  prudence:  the  youth 
commits  himself  to  magnanimity  and  chance.  The  young 
tnan,  who  intends  no  ill,  believes  that  none  is  intended,  and 
therefore  acts  with  openness  and  candor  :  but  his  father,  hav- 
ing suffered  the  injuries  of  fraud,  is  impelled  to  suspect,  and 
too  often  allured  to  practise  it.  Age  looks  with  anger  on  the 
temerity  of  youth,  "and  youth  with  contempt  on  the  scrupulo- 
sity of  age.  Thus  parents  and  children,  for  the  greatest  part, 
live  on,  to  love  less  and  less  :  and,  if  those  whom  nature  has 
thus  closely  united  are  the  torments  of  each  other,  where  shall 
we  look  for  tenderness  and  consolation?" 

"Surely,"  said  the  prince,  "you  must  have  been  unfortu- 
nate in  your  choice  of  acquaintance  :  I  am  unwilling  to  be- 
lieve that  the  most  tender  of  all  relations  is  thus  impeded  in 
its  effects  by  natural  necessity." 

"  Domestic  discord,"  answered  she,  "  is  not  inevitably  and 
fatally  fttLaiJi§m"ji  ;  buf^yet  it  is  not  easily  avoided.  We  sel- 
dom see  that  a  whole  family  is  virtuous  :  the  good  and  the 
evil  cannot  well  agree  ;  and  the  evil  can  yet  less  agree  with 
one  another  :  even  the  virtuous  fall  sometimes  to  variance, 
when  their  virtues  are  of  different  kinds,  and  tending  to  ex- 
tremes. In  general,  those  parents  have  most  reverence  who 
most  deserve  it  ;  for  he  that  lives  well  cannot  be  despised. 

"  Many  other  evils  infest  private  life.  Some  are  the  slaves 
of  servants  whom  they  have  trusted  with  their  affairs. 
Some  are  kept  in  continual  anxiety  by  the  caprice  of  rich  re- 
lations, whom  they  cannot  please,  and  dare  not  offend.  Some 
husbands  are  imperious,  and  some  wives  perverse  ;  and,  as  it 
is  always  more  easy  to  do  evil  than  good,  though  the  wisdom 


\ 


I  shall  for  the  future  think  it  dangerous  to  connect  my  in- 
terest with  that  of  another,  lest  I  should  be  unhappy  by  my 
partner's  fault." 

"  I  have  met,"  said  the  princess,  "  with  many  who  live  sin- 
gle for  that  reason  ;  but  I  never  found  that  their  prudence 
ought  to  raise  envy.  They  dream  away  their  time  without 
friendship,  without  fondness,  and  are  driven  to  rid  themselves 
of  the  day,  for  which  they  have  no  use,  by  childish  amuse- 
me-nts  or  vicious  delights.  They  act  as  beings  under  the 
constant  sense  of  some  known  inferiority,  that  fills  their  mind? 


RASSELAS.  49 

with  rancor,  and  their  tongues  with  censure.  They  are 
peevish  at  home,  and  malevolent  abroad ;  and,  as  the  outlaws 
of  human  nature,  make  it  their  business  and  their  pleasure  to 
disturb  that  society  which  debars  them  from  its  privileges. 
To  live  without  feeling  or  exciting  sympathy,  to  be  fortunate 
without  adding  to  the  felicity  of  others,  or  afflicted  without 
tasting  the  balm  of  pity,  is  a  state  more  gloomy  than  solitude : 
it  is  not.  retreat,  but  exclusion  from  mankind.  Marriage  has 
many  pains,  but  celibacy  has  no  pleasures." 

"  What  then  is  to  be  done  ?"  said  Ras'selas  ;  "  the  more 
we  inqufre  the  less  we  can  resolve.  Surely  he  is  most  likely 
to  please  himself  that  has  no  other  inclination  to  regard." 

CHAP.  XXVII. 

Disquisition  upon  Greatness. 

THE  conversation  had  a  short  pause.  The  prince,  having 
considered  his  sister's  observations,  told  her,  that  she  had 
surveyed  life  with  prejudice,  and  supposed  misery  where  she 
did.not  find  it.  "  Your  narrative,"  says  he,  "  throws  yet  a 
darker  gloom  upon  the  prospects  of  futurity  :  the  predictions 
of  Irnlac  were  but  faint  sketches  of  the  evils  painted  by  Ne- 
Kayah.  I  have  been  lately  convinced  that  quiet  is  not  the 
daughter  of  grandeur,  or  of  power :  that  her  presence  is  not  to 
oe  bought  by  wealth,  or  enforced  by  conquest.  It  is  evident, 
that  as  any  man  acts  in  a  wider  compass,  he  must  be  more 
exposed  to  opposition  from  enmity,  or  miscarriage  from 
chance  :  whoever  has  many  to  please  or  to  govern  must  use 
the  ministry  of  many  agents,  some  of  whom  will  be  wicked, 
and  some  ignorant ;  by  some  he  will  be  misled,  and  by  others 
betrayed.  If  he  gratifies  one,  he  will  offend  another ;  those 
that  are  not  favored  will  think  themselves  injured  ;  and,  since 
favors  can  be  conferred  but  upon  few,  the  greater  number  will 
be  always  discontented." 

"  The  discontent,"  said  the  princess,  "  which  is  thus  un- 
reasonable, I  hope  that  I  shall  always  have  spirit  to  despise, 
and  you  power  to  repress." 

"  Discontent,"  answered  Rasselas,  "  will  not  always  be 
without  reason  under  the  most  just  and  vigilant  administra- 
tion of  public  affairs.  None,  however  attentive,  can  always 
discover  that  merit  which  indigence  or  faction  may  happen  to 
obscure  ;  and  non«,  however  powerful,  can  always  reward  it. 
Yet,  he  that  sees  inferior  desert  advanced  above  him  will  na- 
turally impute  that  preference  to  partiality  or  caprice  ;  and, 
indeed,  it  can  scarcely  be  hoped  that  any  man,  however  mag- 


50  RASSELAS. 

nanimous  by  nature,  or  exalted  by  condition,  will  be  able  to 
persist  for  ever  in  fixed  and  inexorable  justice  of  distribution  : 
he  will  sometimes  indulge  his  own  affections,  and  sometimes 
those  of  his  favorites  :  he  will  permit  some  to  please  him  who 
can  never  serve  him  :  he  will  discover  in  those  whom  he 
loves  qualities  which  in  reality  they  do  not  possess ;  and  to 
those  from  whom  he  receives  pleasure,  he  will  in  his  turn  en- 
deavor to  give  it.  Thus  will  recommendations  sometimes 
prevail  which  were  purchased  by  money,  or  by  the  more  de- 
structive bribery  of  flattery  and  servility. 

"  He  that  hath  much  to  do  will  do  something  wrong,  and  on 
that  wrong  must  suffer  the  consequences ;  and  if  it  were  pos- 
sible that  he  should  always  act  rightly,  yet  when  such  num- 
bers are  to  judge  of  his  conduct,  the  bad  will  censure  and 
obstruct  him  by  malevolence,  and  the  good,  sometimes,  by 
mistake. 

"  The  highest  stations  cannot  therefore  hope  to  be  the 
abodes  of  happiness,  which  I  would  willingly  believe  to  have 
fled  from  thrones  and  palaces,  to  seats  of  humble  privacy  and 
placid  obscurity.  For  what  can  hinder  the  satisfaction,  or 
intercept  the  expectations,  of  him  whose  abilities  are  ade- 
quate to  his  employments,  who  sees  with  his  own  eyes  the 
whole  circuit  of  his  influence,  who  chooses  by  his  own  know- 
ledge all  whom  he  trusts,  and  whom  none  are  tempted  to  de- 
ceive by  hope  or  fear  ?  Surely  he  has  nothing  to  do  but  to 
love  and  to  be  loved,  to  be  virtuous  and  to  be  happy." 

"Whether  perfect  happiness  would  be  procured  by  per- 
fect goodness,"  said  Nekayah,  "  this  world  will  never  afford 
an  opportunity  of  deciding.  But  this,  at  least,  may  be  main- 
tained, that  we  do  not  always  find  visible  happiness  in  pro- 
portion to  visible  virtue.  All  natural,  and  almost  all  political 
evils,  are  incident  alike  to  the  bad  and  good  :  they  are  con- 
founded in  the  misery  of  a  famine,  and  not  much  Astingushed 
in  the  fury  of  a  faction  ;  they  sink  together  in  a  utnpest,  and 
are  driven  together  from  their  country  by  invaders.  All  that 
"  virtue  can  afford  is  quietness  of  conscience,  and  a  steady 
prospect  of  a  happier  state :  this  may  enable  us  to  endure 
calamity  with  patience ;  but  remember  that  patience  must 
suppose  pain."  * 

CHAP.  XXVIII. 

Rasselas  and  Nekayah  continue  their  Conversation. 
"  DEAR  princess,"  said  Rasselas,  "  you  fall  into  the  com- 
mon errors  of  exaggeratory  declamation,  by  producing  in  a 


RASSELAS.  51 

familiar  disquisition,  examples  of  national  calamities,  and 
scenes  of  extensive  misery,  which  are  found  in  books  rather 
than  in  the  world,  and  which,  as  they  are  horrid,  are  ordain- 
ed to  be  rare.  Let  us  not  imagine  evils  which  we  do  not 
feel,  nor  injure  life  by  misrepresentations.  I  cannot  bear 
that  querulous  eloquence  which  threatens  every  city  with  a 
siege  like  that  of  Jerusalem,  that  makes  famine  attend  on 
every  flight  of  locusts,  and  suspends  pestilence  on  the  wing 
of  every  blast  that  issues  from  the  south. 

"  On  necessary  and  inevitable  evils  which  overwhelm 
kingdoms  at  once,  all  disputation  is  vain :  when  they  hap- 
pen, they  must  be  endured.  But  it  is  evident,  that  these 
bursts  of  universal  distress  are  more  dreaded  than  felt ;  thou- 
sands and  ten  thousands  flourish  in  youth,  and  wither  in  age, 
without  the  knowledge  of  any  other  than  domestic  evils,  and 
share  the  same  pleasures  and  vexations,  whether  their  kings 
are  mild  or  cruel,  whether  the  armies  of  their  country  pursue 
their  enemies,  or  retreat  before  them.  While  courts  are 
disturbed  with  intestine  competitions,  and  ambassadors  are 
negotiating  in  foreign  countries,  the  smith  still  plies  his  an- 
vil, and  the  husbandman  drives  his  plough  forward  ;  the  ne- 
cessaries of  life  are  required  and  obtained,  and  the  succes- 
sive business  of  the  seasons  continues  to  make  its  wonted 
revolutions. 

"  Let  us  cease  to  consider  what,  perhaps,  may  never  hap- 
pen, and  what,  when  it  shall  happen,  will  laugh  at  human 
speculation.  We  will  not  endeavor  to  modify  the  motions  of 
the  elements,  or  to  fix  the  destiny  of  kingdoms.  It  is  our 
ousiness  to  consider  what  beings  like  us  may  perform  ;  each 
laboring  for  his  own  happiness,  by  promoting  within  his  cir- 
cle, however  narrow,  the  happiness  of  others. 

'MMarriage  is  evidently  the  Hictatej?f  pnturftj  "IPJI  "ftd. 

omen  were  madeTo  be  the  compamonsof  each  other  ;  and, 
rergfore^i  cannot  be  persuaded  but  thai  marriage" is  onej)i 

ejn^us^ojJnapp^ne^L^ 

~~~*f\  know  nof^said  the  princess,  "  whether  marriage  be 
more  than  one  of  the  innumerable  modes  of  human  misery. 
When  I  see  and  reckon  the  various  forms  of  connubial  in- 
felicity, the  unexpected  causes  of  lasting  discord,  the  diversi- 
ties of  temper,  the  oppositions  of  opinion,  the  rude  collisions 
of  contrary  desire  where  both  are  urged  by  violent  impulses, 
the  obstinate  contest  of  disagreeing  virtues  where  both  are 
supported  by  consciousness  of  good  intention,  I  am  some- 
times disposed  to  think,  with  the  severer  casuists  of  most 
nations,  that  marriage  is  rather  permitted  than  approved, 


52  RASSELAS. 

and  that  none,  but  by  the  instigation  of  a  passion  too  much 
indulged,  entangle  themselves  with  indissoluble  compacts." 

"  You  seem  to  forget,"  replied  Rasselas,  "  that  you  have, 
even  now,  represented  celibacy  as  less  happy  than  marriage. 
Both  conditions  may  be  bad,  but  they  cannot  both  be  worst. 
Thus  it  happens  when  wrong  opinions  are  entertained,  that 
they  mutually  destroy  each  other,  and  leave  the  mind  open  to 
truth." 

"  I  did  not  expect,"  answered  the  princess,  "  to  hear  that 
imputed  to  falsehood,  which  is  the  consequence  only  of  frail- 
ty. To  the  mind,  as  to  the  eye,  it  is  difficult  to  compare 
with  exactness  objects  vast  in  their  extent,  and  various  in 
their  parts.  Where  we  see  or  conceive  the  whole  at  once, 
we  readily  note  the  discriminations,  and  decide  the  prefer- 
ence :  but  of  two  systems,  of  which  neither  can  be  surveyed 
by  any  human  being  in  its  full  compass  and  magnitude,  and 
multiplicity  of  complication,  where  is  the  wonder,  that,  judg- 
ing of  the  whole  by  parts,  I  am  alternately  affected  by  one 
and  the  other,  as  either  presses  on  my  memory  or  fancy  ? 
We  differ  from  ourselves  just  as  we  differ  from  each  other, 
when  we  see  only  part  of  the  question,  as  in  the  muUifarious 
relations  of  politics  and  morality  ;  but  when  we  perceive  tJv 
whole  at  once,  as  in  numerical  computations,  all  agree  in 
one  judgment,  and  none  ever  varies  in  his  opinion." 

"  Let  us  not  add,"  said  the  prince,  "  to  the  other  evils  of 
life  the  bitterness  of  controversy,  nor  endeavor  to  vie  with 
each  other  in  subtleties  of  argument.  We  are  employed  in 
a  search  of  which  both  are  equally  to  enjoy  the  success,  or 
suffer  by  the  miscarriage.  It  is  therefore  fit  that  we  assist 


niisrbe  peopled  by  mar ciage,  or  peupjed 
w~THe  worm  ls~  to  be  peopled,"  returned  Nekayah, 
"  is  not  my  care,  and  needs  not  be  yours.  I  see  no  danger 
that  the  present  generation  should  omit  to  leave  successors 
behind  them :  we  are  not  now  inquiring  for  the  world,  but 
for  ourselves." 


CHAP.  XXIX. 

The  Debate  on  Marriage  continued. 

"  THE  good  of  the  whole,"  said  Rasselas,  "  is  the  same 
with  the  good  of  ail  its  parts.     If  marriage  be  best  for  man- 


RASSELAS.  53 

kind,  it  must  be  evidently  best  for  individuals  ;  or  a  perma- 
•nent  and  necessary  duty  must  be  the  cause  of  evil,  and  some 
must  be  inevitably  sacrificed  to  the  convenience  of  others.  In 
the  estimate  which  you  have  made  of  the  two  states,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  incommodities  of  a  single  life  are,  in  a  great 
measure,  necessary  and  certain^  but  those  of  the  conjugal 
state  accidental  and  avoidable.  ^  I  cannot  forbear  to  flatter 
myself  Jthat  prudence  and  benevolence  will  make  marriage 
happy.  j  The  general  folly  of  mankind  is  the  cause  of  general 
complaint.  What  ran  hg.gYp*MTted  hllf  disa.ppointm«mt  and 
repentance  from  a  choice  made  in  the  immaturity  of  youth, 
in  the  ardor  of  desire,  without  judgment,  without  foresight, 
without  inquiry  after  conformity  of  opinions,  similarity  of 
manners,  rectitude  of  judgment,  or  purity  of  sentiment? 

"  Such  is  the  common  process  of  marriage.     A  youth  and 
maiden  meeting  by  chance,  or  brought  together  by  artifice,     ! 
exchange  glances,  reciprocate  civilities,  go  home  and  dream     i 
of  one  another.     Having  little  to  divert  attention,  or  diver- 
sify thought,  they  find  themselves  uneasy  when  they  are 
apart,  and  therefore  conclude  that  they  shall  be  happy  to- 
gether.    They  marry,  and  discover  what  nothing  but  volun- 
lary  blindness  before  had  concealed ;  they  wear  out  life  in 
altercations,  and  charge  nature  with  cruelty. 

11  From  those  early  marriages  proceeds  likewise  the  rival- 
ry of  parents  and  children :  the  son  is  eager  to  enjoy  the 
world  before  the  father  is-  willing  to  forsake  it,  and  there  is 
hardly  room  at  once  for  two  generations.  The  daughter  be- 
gins to  bloom  before  the  mother  can  be  content  to  fade,  and 
neither  can  forbear  to  wish  for  the  absence  of  the  other. 

"  Surely,  all  these  evils  may  be  avoided  by  that  delibera- 
tion and  delay  which  prudence  prescribes  to  irrevocable 
choice.  In  the  variety  and  jollity  of  youthful  pleasures,  life 
may  be  well  enough  supported  without  the  help  of  a  partner. 
Longer  time  will  increase  experience,  and  wider  views  will 
allow  better  opportunities  of  inquiry  and  selection  :  one  ad- 
vantage at  least  will  be  certain  ;  the  parents  will  be  visibly 
older  than  their  children." 

"  What  reason  cannot  collect,"  said  Nekayah,  "  and  what 
experiment  has  not  yet  taught,  can  be  known  only  from  the 
report  of  others.  I  hj^ijejjnJoljUhaLLjte  marriages  are  not 
eminently-happy.  This  is  a  question  too  important  to  be  neg- 
lected ;  and  I  hdve  often  proposed  it  to  those,  whose  accuracy 
of  remark  and  comprehensiveness  of  knowledge  made  their 
suffrages  worthy  of  regard.  They  have  generally  determin- 
ed, that  it  is  dangerous  for  a  man  and  woman  to  suspend  their 


54  RASSELAS. 

fate  upon  each  other  at  a  time  when  opinions  are  fixed  and 
habits  are  established,  when  friendships  have  been  contracted 
on  both  sides,  when  life  has  been  planned  into  method,  and 
the  mind  has  long  enjoyed  the  contemplation  of  its  own  pros- 
pects. 

"  It  is  scarcely  possible,  that  two  travelling  through  the 
world  under  the  conduct  of  chance  should  have  been  both  di- 
rected  to  the  same  path,  and  it  will  not  often  happen  that 
either  will  quit  the  track  which  custom  has  made  pleasing. 
When  the  desultory  levity  of  youth  has  settled  into  regular- 
ity, it  is  soon  succeeded  by  pride  ashamed  to  yield,  or  obsti- 
nacy delighting  to  contend.  And  even  though  mutual  esteem 
produces  mutual  desire  to  please,  time  itself,  as  it  modifies 
unchangeably  the  external  mien,  determines  likewise  the  di- 
rection of  the  passions,  and  gives  an  inflexible  rigidity  to  the 
manners.  Long  customs  are  not  easily  broken ;  he  that  at- 
tempts to  change  the  course  of  his  own  life  very  often  labors 
in  vain,  and  how  shall  we  do  that  for  others  which  we  are  sel- 
dom able  to  do  for  ourselves  ?" 

"  But  surely,"  interposed  the  prince,  "  you  suppose  the 
chief  motive  of  choice  forgotten  or  neglected.  Whenever  I 
shall  seek  a  wife,  it  shall  be  my  first  question,  whether  she  be 
willing  to  be  led  by  reason  ?" 

"  Thus  it  is,"  said  Nekayah,  "  that  philosophers  are  de- 
ceived. There  are  a  thousand  familiar  disputes  which  rea- 
son can  never  decide ;  questions  that  elude  investigation,  and 
make  logic  ridiculous  ;  cases  where  something  must  be  done, 
and  where  little  can  be  said.  Consider  the  state  of  mankind, 
and  inquire  how  few  can  be  supposed  to  act  upon  any  occa- 
sions, whether  small  or  great,  with  all  the  reasons  of  action 
present  to  their  minds.  Wretched  would  be  the  pair,  above 
all  names  of  wretchedness,  who  should  be  doomed  to  adjust 
by  reason,  every  morning,  all  the  minute  details  of  a  domes- 
tic day. 

"  TfcrkgA-mhn  rmrry  at  a.n  advance^  flgft  will  probably  es- 
cape the  encroachmgJilauiClh^ctnjd^en  f  but  in  the  diminu- 
tion 61'  tllly  advantage,  theyw^TTWTiEelytoJ^Eve  them,  ig- 
norant ancflTfelpte'&^Jo  a  ^uardiatt*§"mfi3T^T^r  if  that  should 
not  hagpeli>4beylfiust  at  lea^TgcTput  of  the  world  before  thev 
'Qee  tho^wlftftn-tfrgyTove  best  either  wise  or  great. 
""""F ronTfheiT^cnTldreh,  if  tKey  have  less*to  fear,  they  have 
less  also  to  hope  ;  and  they  lose,  without  an  equivalent,  the 
joys  of  early  love,  and  the  convenience  of  uniting  with  man- 
ners pliant,  and  minds  susceptible  of  new  impressions,  which 


RASSELAS.  55 

might  wear  away  their  dissimilitudes  by  long  cohabitation,  as 
soft  bodies,  by  continual  attrition,  conform  their  surfaces  to 
each  other.  . 

\        "I  believe  it  will  be  found  that  those  who  marry  late  are  T 
I    best  pleased  with  their  children,  and  those  who  marry  early  «A»* 
I     with  their  partners."  "\y 

*         "  Tte  union  of  these  two  affections,"   said    Rasselas,  •*• 
"  would  produce  all  that  could  be  wished.     Perhaps  there  is 
a  time  when  marriage  might  unite  them ;  a  time  neither  too 
early  for  the  father  nor  too  late  for  the  husband." 

"  Every  hour,"  answered  the  princess,  "  confirms  my  pre- 
judice in  favor  of  the  position  so  often  uttered  by  the  mouth    j 
I  of  Imlac,  '  That  nature  sets  her  gifts  on  the  right  hand  and  on    ; 
I  the  left.'     Those  conditions  which  flatter  hope  and  attract 
desire  are  so  constituted,  that  as  we  approach  one  we  recede 
from  another.     There  are  goods  so  opposed  that  we  canno* 
seize  both,  but,  by  too  much  prudence,  may  pass  between 
them  at  too  great  a  distance  to  reach  either.  This  is  often  the 
fate  of  long  consideration  •   he  dnfts  nptfring  wj?n  endp.avnrs  to 
*"  do  mojrjgj:han  is  plowed  to  humanity.     Flatter  not  yourself 
^       ^^ritncontrarietieTof  pleasure.     Ofthe  blessings  set  before 
you  make  your  choice,  and  be  content.     No  man  can  taste 
the  fruits  of  autumn,  while  he  is  delighting  his  scent  with  the 
flowers  of  the  spring  :  no  man  can  at  the  same  time  fill  his 
cup  from  the  source  and  from  the  mouth  of  the  Nile." 


CHAP.  XXX. 

Imlac  enters,  and  changes  the  Coversatton. 

HERE  Imlac  entered,  and  interrupted  them.  "  Imlac," 
said  Rasselas,  "  I  have  been  taking  from  the  princess  the 
dismal  history  of  private  life,  and  am  almost  discouraged  from 
further  search." 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  Imlac,  "  that  while  you  are  mak- 
ing the  choice  of  life,  you  neglect  to  live.  You  wander  about 
a  single  city,  which,  however  large  and  diversified,  can  now 
afford  few  novelties,  and  forget  that  you  are  in  a  country  fa- 
mous among  the  earliest  monarchies  for  the  power  and  wis- 
dom of  its  inhabitants  ;  a  country  where  the  sciences  first 
dawned  that  illuminate  the  world,  and  beyond  which  the  arts 
cannot  be  traced  of  civil  society  or  domestic  life. 

"  The  old  Egyptians  have  left  behind  them  monuments  of 
industry  and  power  before  which  all  European  magnificence 


66  RASSELA3. 

is  confessed  to  fade  away.  The  ruins  of  tneir  architecture 
are  the  schools  of  modern  builders,  and  from  the  wonders 
which  time  has  spared,  we  may  conjecture,  though  uncer- 
tainly, what  it  has  destroyed." 

"  My  curiosity,"  said  Rasselas,  "  does  not  very  strongly 
lead  me  to  survey  piles  of  stone,  or  mounds  of  earth  ;  my  bu- 
siness is  with  man.  I  came  hither  not  to  measure  fragments 
of  temples,  or  trace  choked  aqueducts,  but  to  look  upon  the 
various  scenes  of  the  present  world." 

"  The  things  that  are  now  before  us,"  said  the  princess, 
"  require  attention,  and  deserve  it.  What  have  I  to  do  with 
the  heroes  or  the  monuments  of  ancient  times — with  times 
which  never  can  return,  and  heroes,  whose  form  of  life  was 
different  from  all  that  the  present  condition  of  mankind  requires 
or  allows  ?" 

"  To  know  any  thing,"  returned  the  poet,  "  we  must  know 
/its  effects ;  to  see  men,  we  must  see  their  works,  that  we 
/  may  learn  what  reason  has  dictated,  or  passion  has  incited, 
and.  find  what  are  the  most  powerful  motives  of  action.  To 
judge  rightly  of  the  present,  we  must  oppose  it  to  the  past ; 
for  all  judgment  is  comparative,  and  of  the  future  nothing, 
can  be  known.  The  truth  is,  that  no  mind  is  much  employed 
upon  the  present :  recollection  and  anticipation  fill  up  almost 
all  our  moments.  Our  passions  are  joy  and  grief,  love  and 
hatred,  hope  and  fear.  Of  joy  and  grief,  the  past  is  the  ob- 
ject :  and  the  future,  of  hope  and  fear :  even  love  and  hatred 
respect  the  past,  for  the  cause  must  have  been  before  the  ef- 
fect. 

^Thepresent  state  ol  Jhin%s_is  Ifcq  consequence  of  the 
former;  ajvtiHtTS^atural  to  inquire  what  were  the  sources  of 
fKe  good  that  we  enjoy,  or  the  evils  that  we  suffer.  If  we 
act  only  for  ourselves,  to  neglect  the  study  of  history  is  not 
prudent :  if  we  are  intrusted  with  the  care  of  others,  it  is 
not just.NI|^iojailce^wJi£njt^s^^  criminal :  and 

ne  may  properly  be  chltrgecTwitirevil  who~fefused  to  learn 
now  he  might  prevent  it. 

"  There  is  no  part  of  history  so  generally  useful  as  that 
which  relates  to  the  progress  of  the  human  mind,  the  gradual 
improvement  of  reason,  the  successive  advances  of  science, 
the  vicissitudes  of  learning  and  ignorance,  which  are  the 
light  and  darkness  of  thinking  beings,  the  extinction  and  re- 
suscitation of  arts,  and  the  revolutions  of  the  intellectual 
world.  If  accounts  of  battles  and  invasions  are  peculiarly 
the  business  of  princes,  the  useful  and  elegant  arts  are  not 


RASSELAS.  57 

to  be  neglected ;  those  who  have  kingdoms  to  govern,  have 
understandings  to  cultivate. 

"  Example  is  always  more  efficacious  than  precept.  A 
soldier  is  formed  in  war,  and  a  painter  must  copy  pictures. 
In  this,  contemplative  life  has  the  advantage  :  great  actions 
are  seldom  seen,  but  the  labors  of  art  are  always  at  hand  for 
those  who  desire  to  know  what  art  has  been  able  to  per- 
form. 

"  When  the  eye,  or  the  imagination,  is  struck  with  any  un- 
common work,  the  next  transition  of  an  active  mind  is  to  the 
means  by  which  it  was  performed.  Here  begins  the  true 
use  of  such  contemplation ;  we  enlarge  our  comprehension 
by  new  ideas,  and  perhaps  recover  some  art  lost  to  mankind, 
or  learn  what  is  less  perfectly  known  in  our  own  country. 
At  least  we  compjirp  our  pwn  with  former  times. and  either  r«- 
ur  improvements,  or,  what  is  the  first  motion  to- 

,  discover  our  defects." 

I  am  witting,"  said  the  prince,  "  to  see  all  that  can  de- 
serve my  search." — "  And  I,"  said  the  princess,  "  shall 
rejoice  to  learn  something  of  the  manners  of  antiquity." 

"  The  most  pompous  monument  of  Egyptian  greatness, 
and  one  of  the  most  bulky  works  of  manual  industry,"  said 
Imlac,  "  are  the  pyramids :  fabrics  raised  before  the  time  of 
history,  and  of  which  the  earliest  narratives  afford  us  only 
uncertain  traditions.  Of  these  the  greatest  is  still  standing, 
very  little  injured  by  time." 

"  Let  us  visit  them  to-morrow,"  said  Nekayah:  "  I  have  ^ 
often  heard  of  the  pyramids,  and  shall  not  rest  till  I  hav« 
seen  them,  within  and  without,  with  my  own  eyes." 

CHAP.  XXXI. 

They  visit  the  Pyramids. 

THE  resolution  being  thus  taken,  they  set  out  the  ne«t 
day.  They  laid  tents  upon  their  camels,  being  resolved  to 
stay  among  the  pyramids  till  their  curiosity  was  fully  satisfied,  \ 
They  travelled  gently,  turned  aside  to  every  thing  remark- 
able, stopped  from  time  to  time  and  conversed  with  the  in- 
habitants, and  observed  the  various  appearances  of  towns 
ruined  and  inhabited,  of  wild  and  cultivated  nature. 

When  they  came  to  the  great  pyramid,  they  were  asto- 
nished at  the  extent  of  the  base,  and  the  height  of  the  top. 
Imlac  explained  to  them  the  principles  upon  which  th**  PJra-     \ 
Tnidal  forth  was  cho"§eh  ibr  a  fabric  intended  to  ccnextend  its 
duration  with  that  of  the  world :  he  showed  that  its  gradual 


58  RASSELAS. 

diminution  gave  it  such  stability,  as  defeated  all  the  common 
attacks  of  the  elements,  and  could  scarcely  be  overthrown 
by  earthquakes  themselves,  the  least  resistible  of  natural 
violence.  A  concussion  that  should  shatter  the  pyramid 
would  threaten  the  dissolution  of  the  continent. 

They  measured  all  its  dimensions,  and  pitched  their  tents 
at  its  foot.  Next  day  they  prepared  to  enter  its  interior 
apartments,  and  having  hired  the  common  guides,  climbed  up 
to  the  first  passage  ;  when  the  favorite  of  the  princess,  look- 
ing into  the  cavity,  stepped  back  and  trembled.  "  Pekuah,'' 
said  the  princess,  "  of  what  art  thou  afraid  ?" 

"  Of  the  narrow  entrance,"  answered  the  lady,  "  and  ot 
the  dreadful  gloom.  I  dare  not  enter  a  place  which  must 
surely  be  inhabited  by  unquiet  souls.  The  original  posses- 
sors of  these  dreadful  vaults  will  start  up  before  us,  and  per- 
haps shut  us  in  for  ever."  She  spoke,  and  threw  her  arms 
round  the  neck  of  her  mistress. 

"  If  all  your  fear  be  of  apparitions,"  said  the  prince,  "  I 
will  promise  you  safety:  there  is  no  danger  from  the  dead  ; 
he  that  is  once  buried  will  be  seen_no  more." 
--  «*Pffatthe  dead  are  'seen  no  more,*-Said  Imlac,  «  I  will 
not  undertake  to  maintain  against  the  concurrent  and  unva- 
ried testimony  of  all  ages  and  of  all  nations.  There  is  no 
people,  rude  or  learned,  among  whom  apparitions  of  the 
dead  are  not  related  and  believed.  This  opinion,  which, 


agreed  in  a  tale  which  nothing 

but  experience  can  make  credible.  That  it  is  doubted  by 
single  cavillers  can  very  little  weaken  the  general  evidence  , 
and  some  who  deny  it  with  their  tongues  confess  it  by  their 
fears. 

"  Yet  I  do  not  mean  to  add  new  terrors  to  those  which  have 
already  seized  upon  Pekuah.  There  can  be  no  reason  why 
spectres  should  haunt  the  pyramid  more  than  other  places,  or 
why  they  should  have  power  or  will  to  hurt  innocence  and 
purity.  Our  entrance  is  no  violation  of  their  privileges  ;  we 
can  take  nothing  from  them  ;  how  then  can  we  offend  them  ?" 

"  My  dear  Pekuah,"  said  the  princess,  "  I  will  always  go 
before  you,  and  Imlac  shall  follow  you.  Remember  that  you 
are  the  companion  of  the  princess  of  Abissinia  ?" 

"  If  the  princess  is  pleased  that  her  servant  should  die,11 
returned  the  lady,  "  let  her  command  some  death  less  dread- 
ful than  inclosure  in  this  horrid  cavern.  You  know  I  dare 


RASSELAS. 


59 


not  disobey  you  ;  I  must  go  if  you  command  me  ;  but,  if  1 
once  enter,  I  never  shall  come  back." 

The  princess  saw  that  her  fear  was  too  strong  for  expostu- 
lation or  reproof,  and,  embracing  her,  told  her  that  she  should 
stay  in  the  tent  till  their  return.  Pekuah  was  not  yet  satis- 
fied, but  entreated  the  princess  not  to  pursue  so  dreadful  a 
purpose  as  that  of  entering  the  recesses  of  the  pyramids. 
"  Though  I  cannot  teach  courage,"  said  Nekayah,  "I  must 
not  l^arn  cowardice  ;  nor  leave  at  last  undone  what  I  came 
hither  only  to  do." 

CHAP.  XXXII. 

They  enter  the  Pyramid. 
descended  to  the  tents,  and  the  rest  entered  the 


o  te  ouner  s  suppose  o  ave  een  reposte.  ey 
then  sat  down  in  one  of  the  most  spacious  chambers  to  rest 
awhile,  before  they  attempted  to  return. 

"We  have  now,"  said  Imlac,  "gratified  our  minds  with 
an  exact  view  of  the  greatest  work  of  man,  except  the  wall 
of  China. 

"  Of  the  wall,  it  is  very  easy  to  assign  the  motive.  It  se- 
cured a  wealthy  and  timorous  nation  from  the  incursions  of 


TTIIW  iiw.ii  uniiv,  iw  ...m_,  t"./tu  vu  111  upon  the  inhabitants  of  pea 
ful  commerce,  as  vultures  descend  upon  domestic  fowl.  Their 
celerity  and  fierceness  made  the  wall  necessary,  and  their 
ignorance  made  it  efficacious. 

"  But  for  the  pyramids,  no  reason  has  ever  been  given, 
adequate  to  the  cost  and  labor  of  the  work.  The  narrowrif  ^y 
of  the  chambers  proves  that  it  could  afford  no  retreat  f >  • 
enemies,  and  treasures  might  have  been  reposited  at  far  less 
expense  with  equal  security.  ^It  sterns  to  have  been  erected 
oniyin  compliance  with  that  nunuti  uf  imagination  which 
preys  mlin^sanLl\ruporrri!er  and  must  be  always~appfiasHH  fry 
wine  employment.  Those  who  have  already  all  that  they  can 


enjoy,  must  enlarge  their  desires,  {Jf— ^ft!  ha.s  built  for  use 
4J.U  use  is  supplied,  must  begin  to  buIM  for_yjajuj.y ,  and  extend 
ms  plaT^to  tneutmosrpower  Tfl  human  performance,  thaTRe 
may  not  "Be  soon  recfacen  10  lor^n  anotner  wish. 

"  I  consider  this  mighty  structure  as  a  monument  of  the 


60  RASSELAS. 

insufficiency  of  human  enjoyments.  A  king,  whose  power 
is  unlimited,  and  whose  treasures  surmount  all  real  and  ima- 
ginary wants,  is  compelled  to  solace,  by  the  erection  of  a  pyra- 
mid, the  satiety  of  dominion  and  tastelessness  of  pleasures, 
and  to  amuse  the  tediousness  of  declining  life,  by  seeing  thou- 
sands laboring  without  end,  and  one  stone,  for  no  purpose, 
laid  upon  another.  Whoever  thou  art,  that,  not  content  with 
a  moderate  condition,  imaginest  happiness  in  royal  magnifi- 
cence, and  dreamest  that  command  or  riches  can  feed  the 
appetite  of  novelty  with  perpetual  gratifications,  survey  the 
pyramids,  and  confess  thy  folly  !" 


CHAP.  XXXIII. 

The  Princess  meets  with  an  Unexpected  Misfortune. 

THEY  rose  up,  and  returned  through  the  cavity  at  which 
they  had  entered  ;  and  the  princess  prepared  for  her  favorite 
a  long  narrative  of  dark  labyrinths  and  costly  rooms,  and  of 
the  different  impressions  which  the  varieties  of  the  way  had 
made  upon  her.  But  when  they  carne  to  their  train,  they 
found  every  one  silent  and  dejected :  the  men  discovered 
shame  and  fear  in  their  countenances,  and  the  women  were 
weeping  in  their  tents. 

What  had  happened  they  did  not  try  to  conjecture,  but  im- 
mediately inquired.  "  You  had  scarcely  entered  into  the  pyra- 
mid," said  one  of  the  attendants,  "  when  a  troop  of  Arabs 
rushed  upon  us  :  we  were  too  few  to  resist  them,  and  too  slow 
to  escape.  They  were  about,  to  search  the  tents,  set  us  on 
our  camels,  and  drive  us  along  before  them,  when  the  ap- 
proach of  some  Turkish  horsemen  put  them  to  flight :  but 
they  seized  the  lady  Pekuah  with  her  two  maids,  and  carried 
them  away :  the  Turks  are  now  pursuing  them  by  our  insti- 
gation, but  I  fear  they  will  not  be  able  to  overtake  them." 

The  princess  was  overpowered  with  surprise  and  grief. 
Rasselas,  in  the  first  heat  of  his  resentment,  ordered  his  ser- 
vants to  follow  him,  and  prepared  to  pursue  the  robbers  with 
his  sabre  in  his  hand.  "  Sir,"  said  Imlac,  "  what  can  you 
hope  from  violence  or  valor?  the  Arabs  are  mounted  on  horses 
trained  to  battle  and  retreat ;  we  have  only  beasts  of  burden. 
By  leaving  our  present  station  we  may  lose  the  princess,  but 
cannot  hope  to  regain  Pekuah." 

In  a  short  time  the  Turks  returned,  having  not  been  able 
to  reach  the  enemy.  The  princess  burst  out  into  new  lamen- 
tations, and  Rasselas  could  scarcely  forbear  to  reproach  them 


RASSELAS.  61 

with  cowardice;  but  Imlac  was  of  opinion,  that  the  escape 
of  the  Arabs  was  no  addition  to  their  misfortune,  for,  perhaps, 
they  would  have  killed  their  captives  rather  than  have  resigned 
them. 


CHAP.  XXXIV. 

They  return  to  Cairo  without  Pekuah. 

THERE  was  nothing  to  be  hoped  from  longer  stay.  They 
returned  to  Cairo,  repenting  of  their  curiosity,  censuring  the 
negligence  of  the  government,  lamenting  their  own  rashness, 
which  had  neglected  to  procure  a  guard,  imagining  many 
expedients  by  which  the  loss  of  Pekuah  might  have  been 
prevented,  and  resolving  to  do  something  for  her  recovery, 
though  none  could  find  any  thing  proper  to  be  done. 

Nekayah  retired  to  her  chamber,  where  her  women  at- 
tempted to  comfort  her,  by  telling  her  that  all  had  their  trou- 
bles, and  that  lady  Pekuah  had  enjoyed  much  happiness  in 
the  world  for  a  long  time,  and  might  reasonably  expect  a 
change  of  fortune.  They  hoped  that  some  good  would  be- 
fall her  wheresoever  she  was,  and  that  their  mistress  would 
find  another  friend,  who  might  supply  her  place. 

The  princess  made  them  no  answer ;  and  they  continued 
the  form  of  condolence,  not  much  grieved  in  their  hearts 
that  the  favorite  was  lost. 

Next  day  the  prince  presented  to  the  Bassa  a  memorial  of 
the  wrong  which  he  had  suffered,  and  a  petition  for  redress. 
The  Bassa  threatened  to  punish  the  robbers,  but  did  not  at- 
tempt to  catch  them ;  nor  indeed  could  any  account  or  de- 
scription be  given  by  which  he  might  direct  the  pursuit. 

It  soon  appeared  that  nothing  would  be  done  by  authority. 
Governors  being  accustomed  to  hear  of  more  crimes  than 
they  can  punish,  and  more  wrongs  than  they  can  redress,  set 
themselves  at  ease  by  indiscriminate  negligence,  and  pre- 
sently forget  tne  request  when  they  lose  sight  of  the  peti- 
tioner. 

Imlac  then  endeavored  to  gain  some  intelligence  by  pri- 
vate agents.  He  found  many  who  pretended  to  an  exact 
knowledge  of  all  the  haunts  of  the  Arabs,  and  to  regular 
correspondence  with  their  chiefs,  and  who  readily  undertook 
the  recovery  of  Pekuah.  Of  these,  some  were  furnished 
ivith  money  for  their  journey,  and  came  back  no  more  ; 
gome  were  liberally  paid  for  accounts  which  a  few  days  dis- 
jovered  to  be  false.  But  the  princess  would  not  suffer  any 
.means,  however  improbable,  to  be  left  untried.  While  she 


62  RASSELAS. 

vas  doing  something,  she  kept  her  hope  alive.  As  one  ex- 
pedient failed,  another  was  suggested  ;  when  one  messenger 
•eturned  unsuccessful,  another  was  despatched  to  a  different 
quarter. 

Two  months  had  now  passed,  and  of  Pekuah  nothing  had 
been  heard  ;  the  hopes  which  they  had  endeavored  to  raise 
in  each  other  grew  more  languid ;  and  the  princess,  when 
she  saw  nothing  more  to  be  tried,  sunk  down  inconsolable  in 
hopeless  dejection.  A  thousand  times  she  reproached  her- 
self with  the  easy  compliance  by  which  she  permitted  her 
favorite  to  stay  behind  her.  "  Had  not  my  fondness,"  said 
she,  "  lessened  my  authority,  Pekuah  had  not  dared  to  talk 
of  her  terrors.  She  ought  to  have  feared  me  more  than 
spectres.  A  severe  look  would  have  overpowered  her ;  a 
peremptory  command  would  have  compelled  obedience. 
Why  did  foolish  indulgence  prevail  upon  me  ?  why  did  I  not 
speak,  and  refuse  to  hear '.'" 

"Great  princess,"  said  Imlac,  "  do  not  reproach  yourself 
for  your  virtue,  or  consider  that  as  blameable  by  wnich  evil 
has  accidentally  been  caused.  Your  tenderness  for  the 
timidity  of  Pekuah  was  generous  and  kind.  When  we  act 
according  to  our  duty,  we  commit  the  event  to  Him  by  whose 
laws  our  actions  are  governed,  and  who  will  suffer  none  to 
be  finally  punished  for  obedience.  When,  in  prospect  of- 
some  good,  whether  natural  or  moral,  we  break  the  rules 
prescribed  us,  we  withdraw  from  the  direction  of  superior 
wisdom,  and  take  all  consequences  upon  ourselves.  |Man 
cannot  so  far  know  the  connexion  of  causes  and  events,  as 
that  he  may  venture  to  do  wrong  in  order  to  do  right.^When 
we  pursue  our  end  by  .awful  means,  we  may  always  console 
our  miscarriage  by  the  hope  of  future  recompense.  When 
we  consult  only  our  own  policy,  and  attempt  to  find  a  nearer 
way  to  good,  by  overleaping  the  settled  boundaries  of  right 
and  wrong,  we  cannot  be  happy  even  by  success,  because 
we  cannot  escape  the  consciousness  of  our  fault;  but  if  we 
miscarry,  the  disappointment  is  irremediably  imbittered. 
IJHow  comfortless  is  the  sorrow  of  him  who  feels  at  once  the 

.ngs  of  guilt,  and  the  vexation  of  calamity  which  guilt  has 


nought  upon  hirnJ^y 

"  Consider,  prmcess,  what  would  have  been  your  condi 
tion,  if  the  lady  Pekuah  had  entreated  to  accompany  you, 
and,  being  compelled  to  stay  in  the  tents,  had  been  carried 
away  ;  or  how  would  you  have  borne  the  thought  if  you  had 


RASSELAS.  63 

forced  her  into  the  pyramid,  and  she  had  died  before  you  in 
agonies  of  terror." 

"  Had  either  happened,"  said  Nekayah,  "  I  could  not 
have  endured  life  till  now ;  I  should  have  been  tortured  to 
madness  by  the  remembrance  of  such  cruelty,  or  must  have 
pined  away  in  abhorrence  of  myself." 

"  This,  at  least,"  said  Imlac,  "  is  the  present  reward  of 
virtuous  conduct,  that  no  unlucky  consequence  can  oblige  us 
to  repent  it." 

CHAP.  XXXV. 
The  Princess  languishes  for  want  of  Pekuah. 

NEKAYAH,  being  thus  reconciled  to  herself,  found  that  no  " 
evil  is  insupportable  but  that  which  is  accompanied  with  con- 
scious nes~5"of~ wrong.  She  was,  from  that  time,  delivered 
from  the  violence  of  tempestuous  sorrow,  and  sunk  into 
silent  pensiveness  and  gloomy  tranquillity.  She  sat  from 
morning  to  evening  recollecting  all  that  had  been  done  or 
said  by  her  Pekuah,  treasured  up  with  care  every  trifle  on 
which  Pekuah  had  sat  an  accidental  value,  and  which  might 
recall  to  mind  any  little  incident  or  careless  conversation. 
The  sentiments  of  her  whom  she  now  expected  to  see  no 
more,  were  treasured  in  her  memory  as  rules  of  life,  and 
%he  deliberated  to  no  other  end  than  to  conjecture  on  any 
occasion  what  would  have  been  the  opinion  and  counsel  oi 
Pekuah. 

The  women  by  whom  she  was  attended  knew  nothing  of 
her  real  condition,  and  therefore  she  could  not  talk  to  them 
but  with  caution  and  reserve.  She  began  to  remit  her  curi- 
osity, having  no  great  desire  to  collect  notions  which  she  had 
no  convenience  of  uttering.  Rasselas  endeavored  first  to 
comfort  and  afterwards  to  divert  her ;  he  hired  musicians,  to 
whom  she  seemed  to  listen,  but  did  not  hear  them ;  and  pro- 
cured masters  to  instruct  her  in  various  arts,  whose  lectures, 
when  they  visited  her  again,  were  again  to  be  repeated.  She  — - 
had  lost  her  taste  of  pleasure,  and  her  ambition  of  excel- 
lence. And  her  rnind,  though  forced  into  short  excursions, 
always  recurred  to  the  image  of  her  friend. 

Imlac  was  every  morning  earnestly  enjoined  to  renew  his 
inquiries ,  and  was  asked  every  night  whether  he  had  yet  heard 
of  Pekuah  ;  till,  not  being  able  to  return  the  princess  the  an- 
swer that  she  desired,  he  was  less  and  less  willing  to  come 
into  her  presence.  She  observed  his  backwardness,  and 
commanded  him  to  attend  her.  "  You  are  not,"  said  she, 


64  RASSKLAS. 

"  to  confound  impatience  with  resentment,  or  to  suppose  that 
I  charge  you  with  negligence,  because  I  repine  at  your  un- 
successfulness.  1  do  not  much  wonder  at  your  absence.  I 
know  that  the  unhappy  are  never  pleasing,  and  that  all  natu- 
rally avoid  the  contagion  of  misery.  To  hear  complaints  ii, 
wearisome,  alike  to  the  wretched  and  the  happy ;  for  who 
would  cloud,  by  adventitious  grief,  the  short  gleams  of  gaye- 
ty  which  life  allows  us  ?  or  who,  that  is  struggling  under  his 
own  evils,  will  add  to  them  the  miseries  of  another? 

"  The  time  is  at  hand,  when  none  shall  be  disturbed  any 
longer  by  the  sighs  of  Nekayah  :  my  search  after  happiness 

—is  now  at  an  end.  I  am  resolved  to  retire  from  the  world 
with  all  its  flatteries  and  deceits,  and  will  hide  myself  in  soli- 
tude, without  any  other  care  than  to  compose  my  thoughts, 
and  regulate  my  hours  by  a  constant  succession  of  innocent 

j  occupations,  till,  with  a  mind  purified  from  earthly  desires,  I 
shall  enter  into  that  state,  to  which  all  are  hastening,  and  in 
which  I  hope  again  to  enjoy  the  friendship  of  Pekuah." 

"  Do  not  entangle  your  mind,"  said  Imlac,  "  by  irrevoca- 
ble determinations,  nor  increase  the  burden  of  life  by  a  vo- 
luntary accumulation  of  misery;  the  weariness  of  retire- 
ment will  continue  or  increase  when  the  loss  of  Pekuah  is 
forgotten.  ^That  you  have  been  deprived  of  one  pleasure  is 
no  very  good  reason  for  rejection  of  the  rest."\  — 

"  Since  Pekuah  was  taken  from  me,"  said  the  princess, 
"  I  have  no  pleasure  to  reject  or  to  retain.  She  tbftt-hasjvo 
*fp«>  toJpyp  or  trust,  has  littleto  hope.  She  wants  the  radi- 
cal principle  of  happiness.  We  may,  perhaps,  allow  that 
what  satisfaction  this  world  can  afford  must  arise  from  the 
conjunction  of  wealth,  knowledge,  and  goodm 
nothing  but  as liti&JieaiJlwjSi,  and  knowJedVfi. 


ner,  and  goodness  may  bo  practised  in  retiremelW." 

"  How  far  solitude  may  admit  goodness,  or  advance  it,  I 
shall  not,"  replied  Imlac,  "  dispute  at  present.  Remember 
the  confession  of  the  pious  hermit.  You  will  wish  to  return 
into  the  world  when  the  image  of  your  companion  has  left 
your  thoughts."  "  That  time,"  said  Nekayah,  "  will  never 
come.  The  generous  frankness,  the  modest  obsequiousness, 
and  the  faithful  secrecy  of  my  dear  Pekuah,  will  always  be 
more  missed,  as  I  shall  live  longer  to  see  vice  and  folly." 

"  The  state  of  a  mind  oppressed  with  a  sudden  calamity," 
said  Imlac,  "  is  like  that  of  the  fabulous  inhabitants  of  the 


RASSELAS.  65 

new-created  earth,  who,  when  the  first  night  came  upon  them, 
supposed  that  day  would  never  return.  When  the  clouds  oif 
sorrow  gather  over  us,  we  see  nothing  beyond  them,  nor  can 
imagine  how  they  will  be  dispelled  :  yet  a  new  day  succeed- 
ed to  the  night,  and  sorrow,  is  never  long  witH1!  p  *»™"  <£- 
ease.  But  they  who  restrain  themselves  from  receiving  com-  \/^C 

tort  do  as  the  savages  would  have  done,  had  they  put  out     /*"V\»  i)T" 


their  eyes  when  it  was  dark. (Our  minds,  like  our  bodies, 
are  in  continual  flux  :  something  is*hourly  lost,  and  something 
acquired^ To  lose  much  at  once  is  inconvenient  to  either, 
^  but  whiHfme  vit£^  powers  remain  uninjured,  nature  will  find 
the  means  of  reparation.  Distance  has  the  same  effect  on 
the  mind  as  on  the  eye ;  and  while  we  glide  along  the  stream 
of  time,  whatever  we  leave  behind  us  is  always  lessening, 
and  that  which  we  approach  increasing  in  magnitude.  Do 
not  suffer  life  to  stagnate ;  it  will  grow  muddy  for  want  of 
motion ;  commit  yourself  again  to  the  current  of  the  world  ; 
Pekuah  will  vanish  by  degrees  ;  you  will  meet  in  your  way 
some  other  favorite,  or  learn  to  diffuse  yourself  in  genera; 
conversation." 

"At  least,"  said  the  prince,  "  do  not  despair  before  all  re- 
medies have  been  tried :  the  inquiry  after  the  unfortunate 
lady  is  still  continued,  and  shall  be  carried  on  with  yet  great 
er  diligence,  on  condition  that  you  will  promise  to  wait  ayeai 
for  the  event,  without  any  unalterable  resolution." 

Nekayah  thought  this  a  reasonable  demand,  and  made  the 
promise  to  her  brother,  who  had  been  advised  by  Imlac  to  re- 
quire it.  Imlac  had,  indeed,  no  great  hope  of  regaining  Pe- 
kuah ;  but  he  supposed,  that  if  he  could  secure  the  interval 
of  a  year,  the  princess  would  be  then  in  no  danger  of  a  clois- 
ter. 

CHAP.  XXXVI. 

Pekuah  is  still  remembered.     The  Progress  of  Sorrow. 

NEKAYAH,  seeing  that  nothing  was  omitted  for  the  reco- 
very of  her  favorite,  and  having,  by  her  promise,  set  her  in- 
tention of  retirement  at  a  distance,  began  imperceptibly  to 
return  to  comrnon  cares  and  common  pleasures.  She  rejoic- 
ed without  her  own  consent  at  (he  suspension  of  her  sorrows, 
and  sometimes  caught  herself  with  indignation  in  the  act  of 
turning  away  her  mind  from  the  remembrance  of  her  whom 
yet  she  resolved  never  to  forget. 

She  then  appointed  a  certain  hour  of  the  day  for  medita- 
tion on  the  merits  and  fondness  of  Pekuah,  and  for  some 
3 


60  RASSELAS. 

weeks  retired  constantly  at  the  time  fixed,  and  returned  with 
her  eyes  swollen  and  her  countenance  clouded.  By  degrees 
she  grew  less  scrupulous,  and  suffered  any  important  and 
pressing  avocation  to  delay  the  tribute  of  daily  tears.  She 
then  yielded  to  less  occasions ;  sometimes  forgot  what  she 
was  indeed  afraid  to  remember  ;  and,  at  last,  wholly  released 
herself  from  the  duty  of  periodical  affliction. 

Her  real  love  of  Pekuah  was  not  yet  diminished.  A  thou- 
sand occurrences  brought  her  back  to  memory,  and  a  thou- 
sand wants,  which  nothing  but  the  confidence  of  friendship 
can  supply,  made  her  frequently  regretted.  fShe,  thereforer 
solicited  Imlac  never  to  desist  from  inquiry,  and  to  leave  nc 
art  of  intelligence  untried,  that  at  least  she  might  have  the 
comfort  of  knowing  that  she  did  not  suffer  by  negligence  or 
sluggishness.  "  Yet  what,"  said  she,  "  is  to  be  expected 
from  our  pursuit  of  happiness,  when  we  find  the  state  of  life 
to  be  such  that  happiness  itself  is  the  cause  of  misery  ?  Why 
should  we  endeavor  to  attain  that  of  which  the  possessior 
cannot  be  secured?  I  shall  henceforward  fear  to  yield  my 
heart  to  excellence,  however  bright,  or  to  fondness,  howevei 
tender,  lest  I  should  lose  again  what  L-have  lost  in  Pekuah." 

CHAP.  XXXVII. 

The  Princess  hears  news  of  Pekuah. 

IN  seven  months,  one  of  the  messengers,  who  had  been 
sent  away  upon  the  day  when  the  promise  was  drawn  from 
the  princess,  returned,  after  many  unsuccessful  rambles,  from 
the  borders  of  Nubia,  with  an  account  that  Pekuah  \ 


X  hands  of  an  Arab  Qhief,  who  possessed  a  castle  or  tortress  on 
the  extremity  ol'  Egypt.  The  Arab,  whose  revenue  was 
plunder,  was  willing  to  restO£fi»her,  with  her  two  attendants, 
for  two  hundred  ounces  of  gold. 


he  price"Was  no  subject  of  debate.  The  princess  was  in 
ecstasies  when  she  heard  that  her  favorite  was  alive,  and 
might  so  cheaply  be  ransomed.  She  could  not  think  of  de- 
laying for  a  moment  Pekuah's  happiness  or  her  own,  but  en- 
treated her  brother  to  send  back  the  messenger  with  the  sum 
required.  Imlac,  being  consulted,  was  not  very  confident  of 
the  veracity  of  the  relater,  and  was  still  more  doubtful  of  the 
Arab's  faith,  who  might,  if  he  were  too  liberallv  trusted,  de- 
tain at  once  the  money  and  the  captives.  He  thought  it  d;m- 
ge  ous  to  put  themselves  m  the  power  of  the  Arab,  by  goii»;» 


RASSELAS. 


into  b-is  district  ;  and  could  not  expect  that  the  rover  would  so 
rouch  expose  himself  as  to  come  into  the  lower  country,  where 
he  might  be  seized  by  the  forces  of  the  Bassa. 

It  is  difficult  to  negotiate  where  neither  will  trust.     But 
f  - 


Rasselas was  desirous  to  go  with  them;  but  neither  his  sister 
nor  Imiac  would  consent.  The  Arab,  according  to  the  custom  of 
his  nation,  observed  the  laws  of  hospitality  with  great  exact- 
ness to  those  who  put  themselves  into  his  power,  and,  in  a  few  • 


all  danger  of  robbery  or  violence. 

The  princess  and  her  favorite  embraced  each  other  with 
transport  too  violent  to  be  expressed,  and  went  out  together 
to  pour  the  tears  of  tenderness  in  secret,  and  exchange  pro- 
fessions of  kindness  and  gratitude.  After  a  few  hours  they 
returned  into  the  refectory  of  the  convent,  where,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  prior  and  his  brethren,  the  prince  required  of 
Pekuah  the  history  of  her  adventures. 

CHAP.  XXXVIII. 

The  Adventures  of  the  Lady  Pekuah. 

"AT;  what  time,  and  in  what  manner  I  was  forced  away," 
said  Pekuah,  "  your  servants  have  told  you.  The  sudden- 
ness of  the  event  struck  me  with  surprise,  and  I  was  at  first 
rather  stupified  than  agitated  with  any  passion  of  either  fear 
or  sorrow.  My  confusion  was  increased  by  the  speed  and 
tumult  of  our  flight,  while  we  were  followed  by  the  Turks, 
who,  as  it  seemed,  soon  despaired  to  overtake  us,  or  were 
afraid  of  those  whom  they  made  a  show  of  menacing. 

"  WJien  the  Arabs  saw  themselves  out.  of  danger,  they, 
slackened  their  course  ;  and  as  I  was  less  harassed  by  exter- 
nal violence,  1  began  to  feel  more  uneawness  in  my  mind. 
After  some  time,  we  stopped  near  a  spring  shaded  with  trees, 


63  RASSKLAS. 

in  a  pleasant  meadow,  where  we  sat  upon  the  ground,  and 
were  offered  such  refreshments  as  our  masters  were  partak- 
ing. I  was  suffered  to  sit  with  my  maids  apart  from  the  rest, 
and  none  attempted  to  comfort  or  insult  us.  Here  I  first  be- 
gan to  feel  the  full  weight  of  my  misery.  The  girls  sat  weep- 
ing in  silence,  and  from  time  to  time  looked  on  me  for  succor. 
I  knew  not  to  what  condition  we  were  doomed,  nor  could 
conjecture  where  would  be  the  place  of  our  captivity,  or 
whence  to  draw  any  hope  of  deliverance.  I  was  in  the  hands 
of  robbers  and  savages,  and  had  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
their  pity  was  more  than  their  justice,  or  that  they  would  for- 
bear the  gratification  of  any  ardor  of  desire,  or  caprice  of  cru- 
elty. I,  however,  kissed  my  maids,  and  endeavored  to  pacify 
them  by  remarking,  that  we  were  yet  treated  with  decency, 
and  that  since  we  were  now  carried  beyond  pursuit,  there  was 
no  danger  of  violence  to  our  lives. 

"  When  we  were  to  be  set  again  on  horseback,  my  maids 
clung  round  me,  and  refused  to  be  parted  ;  but  I  commanded 
them  not  to  irritate  those  who  had  us  in  their  power.  We 
travelled  the  remaining  part  of  the  day  through  an  u-nfre- 
quented  and  pathless  country,  and  came  by  moonlight  to  the 
side  of  the  hill  where  the  rest  of  the  troop  was  stationed. 
Their  tents  were  pitched,  and  their  fires  kindled,  and  our 
chief  was  welcomed  as  a  man  much  beloved  by  his  de- 
pendants. 

"  We  were  received  into  a  large  tent,  where  we  found  wo- 
men who  had  attended  their  husbands  in  tne  expedition.  They 
set  before  us  the  supper  which  thty  had  provided,  and  I  ate 
k  rather  to  encourage  my  maids  than  to  comply  with  any  ap- 
petite of  my  own.  When  the  meat  was  taken  away,  they 
spread  the  carpets  for  repose.  I  was  weary,  and  hoped  to 
find  in  sleep  that  remission  of  distress  which  nature  seldom 
denies.  Ordering  myself,  therefore,  to  be  undressed,  I  ob- 
served that  the  women  looked  very  earnestly  upon  me,  not 
expecting,- 1  suppose,  to  see  me  so  submissively  attended. 
When  my  upper  vest  was  taken  off,  they  were  apparently 
struck  with  the  splendor  of  my  clothes,  and  one  of  them  timo- 
rously laid  her  hand  upon  the  embroidery.  She  then  went 
out,  and,  in  a  short  time,  came  back  with  another  woman,  who 
seemed  to  be  of  higher  rank  and  greater  authority.  She  did, 
at  her  entrance,  the  usual  act  of  reverence,  and,  taking  me  by 
the  hand,  placed  me  in  a  smaller  tent,  spread  with  finer  car- 
pets, where  I  spent  the  night  quietly  with  my  maids. 

"  fn  the  mo.ning,  as  I  was  sitting  on  the  grass,  the  chief  of 
the  troop  came  towards  me.  I  rose  up  to  receive  him,  and 


RASSELAS.  69 

he  bowed  with  great  respect.  '  Illustrious  lady,'  said  he, *  my 
fortune  is  better  than  I  had  presumed  to  hope  ;  I  am  told,  by 
my  women,  that  I  have  a  princess  in  my  camp.'  Sir,  an- 
swered I,  your  women  have  deceived  themselves  and  you ;  I 
am  not  a  princess,  but  an  unhappy  stranger,  who  intended 
«oon  to  have  left  this  country,  in  which  I  am  now  to  be  impri- 
soned for  ever.  '  Whoever,  or  whencesoever,  you  are,'  re- 
turned the  Arab,  '  your  dress,  and  that  of  your  servants,  show 
your  rank  to  be  high,  and  your  wealth  to  be  great.  Why 
should  you,  who  can  so  easily  procure  your  ransom,  think 
yourself  in  danger  of  perpetual  captivity?  The  purpose  oi 
ray  incursions  is  to  increase  my  riches,  or  more  properly  to 
gather  tribute.  The  sons  of  Ishmael  are  the  natural  and  he- 
reditary lords  of  this  part  of  the  continent,  which  is  usurped 
by  late  invaders  and  low-born  tyrants,  from  whom  we  are 
compelled  to  take  by  the  sword  what  is  denied  to  justice. 
The  violence  of  war  admits  no  distinction  ;  the  lance  that  is 
lifted  at  guilt  and  power  will  sometimes  fall  on  innocence  and 
gentleness.' 

"  How  little,  said  I,  did  I  expect  that  yesterday  it  should 
have  fallen  upon  me. 

"  '  Misfortunes,'  answered  the  Arab,  *  should  always  be 
expected.  If  the  eye  of  hostility  could  learn  reverence  or 
pity,  excellence  like  yours  had  been  exempt  from  injury. 
But  the  angels  of  affliction  spread  their  toils  alike  for  the 
virtuous  and  the  wicked,  for  the  mighty  and  the  mean.  Do 
not  be  disconsolate  ;  I  am  not  one  of  the  lawless  and^ruel 
rovers  of  the  desert ;  I  know  the  rules  of  civil  life  ^l  will 
fix  your  ransom,  give  a  passport  to  your  messenger,  and  per- 
form my  stipulation  with  nice  punctuality^ 

"  You  will  easily  believe  that  I  was  pleased  with  his  cour- 
tesy ;  and  finding  that  his  predominant  passion  was  desire  of 
money,  I  began  now  to  think  my  danger  less  ;  for  I  knew 
that  no  sum  would  be  thought  too  great  for  the  release  of  Pe- 
Kuah.  I  told  him  that  he  should  have  no  reason  to  charge 
me  with  ingratitude,  if  I  was  used  with  kindness  ,  and  that 
any  ransom  which  could  be  expected  for  a  maid  of  common 
rank  would  be  paid,  but  that  he  must  not  persist  to  rate  me  as 
a  princess.  He  said  he  would  consider  what  he  should  de- 
mand, and  then,  smiling,  bowed  and  retired. 

"  Soon  after,  the  women  came  about  me,  each  contending 
to  be  more  officious  than  the  other,  and  my  maids  themselves 
were  served  with  reverence.  We  travelled  onward  by  short 
journeys.  On  the  fourth  day,  the  chief  told  me  that  myjan* 
som  must  be  two  hundred  ounces  of  gold ;  which  I  not  only 


70  RASSELAS. 

promised  him,  but  told  him  that  I  would  add  fifty  more,  if  1 
knd  my  maids  were  honorably  treated.  t 
/  "  I  never  knew  the  power  of  gold  before/  From  that  time 
T  was  the  leader  of  the  troop.  The  march  of  every  day  was 
longer  or  shorter  as  I  commanded,  and  the  tents  were  pitched 
where  I  chose  to  rest.  We  now  had  camels  and  other  con- 
veniences for  travel :  my  own  women  were  always  at  my  side, 
and  I  amused  myself  with  observing  the  manners  of  the  va- 
grant nations,  and  with  viewing  remains  of  ancient  edifices 
with  which  these  deserted  countries  appear  to  have  been,  in 
some  distant  age,  lavishly  embellished. 

"  The  chief  of  the  band  was  a  man  far  from  illiterate  :  he 
was  able  to  travel -bjLjhe  stars  or_jhfi_coinpass,  and  had 
marked  in  his  erratic  expeditions  such  places  as  are  most 
worthy  the  notice  of  a  passenger.  He  observed  to  me,  that 
buildings  are  always  best  preserved  in  places  little  frequented, 
and  difficult  of  access  4f<jgr  when  once  a  country  declines  from 
its  primitive  splendor,  the  more  inhabitants  are  left,  the 
quicker  ruin  will  be  made?N  Walls  supply  stones  more  easily 
than  quarries ;  and  palaces  and  temples  will  be  demolished, 
to  make  stables  of  granite  and  cottages  of  porphyry.'* 


y  CHAP.  XXXIX. 

The  Adventures  o/Pekuah  continued. 
"  WE  wandered  about  in  this  manner  for  some  weeks,  ei- 
ther, as  our  chief  pretended,  for  ny  gratification,  or,  as  I  ra- 
ther suspected,  for  some  convenience  of  his  own.  I  endea- 
vored to  appear  contented  where  sullenness  and  resentment 
would  have  been  of  no  use,  and  that  endeavor  conduced  much 
to  the  calmness  of  my  mind ;  but  my  heart  was  always  with 
Nekayah,  and  the  troubles  of  the  night  much  overbalanced  the 
amusements  of  the  day.  My  women,  who  threw  all  their 
cares  upon  their  mistress,  set  their  minds  at  ease  from  the  time 
when  they  saw  me  treated  with  respect,  and  gave  themselves 
up  to  the  incidental  alleviations  of  our  fatigue  without  solici- 
tude or  sorrow.  I  was  pleased  with  their  pleasure,  and  ani- 
mated with  their  confidence.  My  condition  had  lost  much  of 
its  terror,  since  I  found  that  the  Arab  ranged  the  country 
merely  to  get  riches.  Avarice  is  a  uniform  and  tractable 
vice  :  other  intellectual  (fisteTfrpsts-^wfe  different  in  different 
constitutions  of  mind ;  that  which  soothes  the  pride  of  one 
will  offend  the  pride  of  another;  but  to  the  favor  of  the  co- 
vetous there  is  a  ready  way — bring  money,  and  nothing  is 
denied. 


RASSELAS.  71 

"  At  last  we  came  to  the  dwelling  of  our  chief;  a  strong 
and  spacious  house,  built  with  stone  in  an  island  of  the  Nile, 
which  lies,  as  I  was  told,  under  the  tropic.  '  Lady,'  said  the 
Arab,  '  you  shall  rest  after  your  journey  a  few  weeks  in  this 
place,  where  you  are  to  consider  yourself  as  sovereign.  My 
Ion  is  war  :  I  have  therefore  chosen  this  obscure  re- 


sidence, TroTn  which  I  can  issue  unexpected,  and  to  which  I 
can  retire  unpursued.  You  may  now  repose  in  security: 
here  are  few  pleasures,  but  here  is  DO  danger.'  H«e  then  led 
me  into  the  inner  apartments,  and,  seating  me  on  the  richest 
couch,  bowed  to  the  ground. 

"  His  women,  who  considered  me  as  a  rival,  look'ed  on  me 
with  malignity  ;  but  being  soon  informed  that  I  was  a  great 
lady  detained  only  for  my  ransom,  they  began  to  vie  with  each 
other  in  obsequiousness  and  reverence. 

"  Being  again  comforted  with  new  assurances  of  speedy 
liberty,  I  was  for  some  days  diverted  from  impatience  by  the 
novelty  of  the  place.  The  turrets  overlooked  the  country  to 
a  great  distance,  and  afforded  a  view  of  many  windings  of  the 
stream.  In  the  day  I  wandered  from  one  place  to  another, 
as  the  course  of  the  sun  varied  the  splendor  of  the  prospect, 
and  saw  many  things  which  I  had  never  seen  before.  The 
crocodiles  and  river  horses  are  common  in  this  unpeopled  re- 
gion ;  and  I  often  looked  upon  them  with  terror,  though  I 
knew  that  they  could  not  hurt  me.  For  some  time  I  expect- 
ed to  see  mermaids  and  tritons,  which,  as  Imlac  has  told  me, 
the  European  travellers  have  stationed  in  the  Nile  ;  but  no 
such  beings  ever  appeared,  and  the  Arab,  when  I  inquired 
after  them,  laughed  at  my  credulity. 

"  At  night  the  Arab  always  attended  me  to  a  tower  set 
apart  for  celestial  observations,  where  he  endeavored  to  teach 
me  the  names  and  courses  of  the  stars.  I  had  no  great  inclina- 
tion to  this  study  ;  but  an  appearance  of  attention  was  neces- 
aary  to  please  my  instructor,  who  valued  himself  for  his  skill, 
and,  in  a  little  while,  I  found  some  employment  requisite  to  b*- 
guile  the  tediousness  of  time,  which  was  to  be  passed  always 
amidst  the  same  objects.  I  was  weary  of  looking  in  the  morn- 
ing on  things  from  which  I  had  turned  away  weary  in  the 
evening  :  I  therefore  was  at  last  willing  to  observe  the  stars 
rather  than  do  nothing,  but  could  not  always  compose  my 
thoughts,  and  was  very  often  thinking  on  Nekayah  when 
others  imagined  me  contemplating  the  sky.  Soon  after  the 
Arab  went  upon  another  expedition,  and  then  my  only  plea- 
sure was  to  talk  with  my  maids  about  the  accident  bv  which 


72  HANSEL  AS. 

we  were  carried  away,  and  the  happiness  that  we  should  al) 
enjoy  at  the  end  of  our  captivity." 

"  There  were  women  in  your  Arab's  fortress,"  said  the 
princess ;  "  why  did  you  not  make  them  your  companions,  en- 
joy their  conversation,  arid  partake  their  diversions  ?  In  a 
place  where  they  found  business  or  amusement,  why  should 
you  sit  corroded  with  idle  melancholy  ?  or  why  could  not  you 
bear  for  a  few  months  that  condition  to  which  they  were  con- 
demned for  life  ?" 

"  The  diversions  of  the  women,"  answered  Pekuah,  "were 
only  childish  play,  by  which  the  mind,  accustomed  to  stronger 
operations,  could  not  be  kept  busy.  I  could  do  all  whioh  they 
delighted  in  doing  by  powers  merely  sensitive,  while  my  in- 
tellectual faculties  were  flown  to  Cairo.  They  ran  from  room 
to  room,  as  a  bird  hops  from  wire  to  wire  in  his  cage.  They 
danced  for  the  sake  of  motion,  as  lambs  frisk  in  a  meadow. 
One  sometimes  pretended  to  be  hurt  that  the  rest  might  be 
alarmed,  or  hid  herself  that  another  might  seek  her.  Part  oi 
their  time  passed  in  watching  the  progress  of  light  bodies  that 
floated  on  the  river,  and  part  in  marking  the  various  forma 
injto  which  clouds  broke  in  the  sky. 

V"  Their  business  was  only  needleworkjin  which -I  and  my 
maids  sometimes  helped  them ;  but  you~know  that  the  mind 
will  easily  straggle  from  the  fingers,  nor  will  you  suspect  that 
captivity  and  absence  from  Nekayah  could  receive  solace 
from  silken  flowers. 

"  Nor  was  much  satisfaction  to  be  hoped  from  their  conver- 
sation :  for  of  what  could  they  be  expected  to  talk  ?  They 
had  seen  nothing,  for  they  had  lived  from  early  youth  in  that 
narrow  spot :  of  what  they  had  not  seen  they  could  have  no 
knowledge,  for  they  could  not  read.  They  had  no  idea  but 
of  the  few  things  that  were  within  their  view,  and  had  hardly 
names  for  any  thing  but  their  clothes  and  their  food.  Asl 
bore  a  superior  character,  I  was  often  called  to  terminate  their 
quarrels,  which  I  decided  as  equitably  as  I  could.  If  it 
could  have  amused  me  to  hear  the  complaints  of  each  against 
the  rest,  I  might  have  been  often  detained  by  long  stories , 
but  the  motives  of  their  animosity  were  so  small  that  I  could 
not  listen  without  interrupting  the  tale." 

"How,"  said  Rasselas,  "can  the  Arab,  whom  you  repre- 
sented as  a  man  of  more  than  common  "accomplishments,  take 
any  pleasure  in  his  seraglio  when  it  is  filled  only  with  women 
like  these  ?  Are  they  exquisitely  beautiful  ?" 

"  They  do  not,"  said  Pekuah,  "  want  that  unaffecting  and 
ignoble  beauty  which  may  subsist  without  sprightliness  or 


RASSELAS.  73 

sublimity,  without  energy  of  thought  or  dignity  of  virtue. 
But  to  a  man  like  the  Arab,  such  beauty  was  only  a  flower 
casually  plucked  and  carelessly  thrown  away.  "Whatever 
pleasures  he  might  find  among  them,  they  were  not  those  of 
friendship  or  society.  When  they  were  playing  about  him, 
he  looked  on  them  with  inattentive  superiority:  when  they 
vied  for  his  regard,  he  sometimes  turned  away  disgusted.  As 
they  had  no  knowledge,  their  talk  could  take  nothing  from  the 
tediousness  of  life  :  .as  they  had  no  choice,  their  fondness,  or 
appearance  of  fondness,  excited  in  him  neither  pride  nor  gra- 
titude :  he  was  not  exalted  in  his  own  esteem  by  the  smiles 
of  a  woman  who  saw  no  other  man,  nor  was  much  obliged 
by  that  regard  of  which  he  could  never  know  the  sincerity, 
and  which  he  might  often  perceive  to  be  exerted  not  so  much 
to  delight  him  as  to  pain  a  rival.  That  which  he  gave,  and 
they  received,  as  love,  was  only  a  careless  distribution  of  su- 
perfluous time ;  such  love  as  man  can  bestow  upon  that  which 
he  despises,  such  as  has  neither  hope  nor  fear5  neither  joy 
nor  sorrow." 

"  You  have  reason,  lady,  to  think  yourself  happy,"  said 
Imlac,  "  that  you  have  been  thus  easily  dismissed.  How 
could  a  mind,  hungry  for  knowledge,  be  willing,  in  an  intellec- 
tual famine,  to  lose  such  a  banquet  as  Pekuah's  conversa- 
tion J" 

"I  am  inclined  to  believe,"  answered  Pekuah,  "that  he 
was  for  some  time  in  suspense ;  for  notwithstanding  his  pro- 
mise, whenever  I  proposed  to  despatch  a  messenger  to  Cairo, 
he  found  some  excuse  for  delay.  While  I  was  detained  in 
his  house,  he  made  many  incursions  into  the  neighboring 
countries,  and,  perhaps,  he  would  have  refused  to  discharge 
me,  had  his  plunder  been  equal  to  his  wishes.  He  returned 
always  courteous,  related  his  adventures,  delighted  to  hear 
my  observations,  and  endeavored  to  advance  my  acquaintance 
with  the  stars.  When  I  importuned  him  to  send  away  my 
letters,  he  soothed  me  with  professions  of  honor  and  sincerity ; 
and  when  I  could  be  no  longer  decently  denied,  put  his  troop 
again  in  motion,  and  left  me  to  govern  in  his  absence.  I  was 
much  afflicted  by  this  studied  procrastination,  and  was  some- 
times afraid  that  I  should  be  forgotten  ;  that  you  would  leave 
Cairo,  and  I  must  end  my  days  in  an  island  of  the  Nile. 

"I  grew  at  last  hopeless  and  dejected,  and  cared  so  little  to 
entertain  him,  that  he  for  a  while  more  frequently  talked  with 
my  maids.  That  he  should  fall  in  love  with  them,  or  with 
me,  might  have  been  equally  fatal;  and  I  was  not  much 
pleased  with  the  growing  friendship.  My  anxiety  was  not 


74  RASSELAS. 

long  ;  for,  as  I  recovered  some  degree  of  cheerfulness  he  re- 
turned to  me,  and  I  could  not  forbear  to  despise  my  former 
uneasiness. 

"  He  still  delayed  to  send  for  my  ransom,  and  would,  prr- 
haps,  never  have  determined,  had  not  your  agent  found  his 
way  to  him.  The  gold,  which  he  would  not  fetch,  he  could 
not  reject  when  it  was  offered.  He  hastened  to  prepare  for  • 
</ir  journey  hither,  like  a  man  delivered  from  the  pain  of  an 
intestine  conflict.  I  took  leave  of  my  companions  in  the  house, 
who  dismissed  me  with  cold  indifference." 

Nekayah,  having  heard  her  favorite's  relation,  rose  and 
embraced  her  :  and  Rasselas  gave  her  a  hundred  ounces  of 
gold,  which  she  presented  to  the  Arab  for  the  fifty  that  were 
promised. 

CHAP.  XL. 

The  History  of  a  Man  of  Learning. 

THEY  returned  to  Cairo,  and  were  so  well  pleased  at  find- 
ing themselves  together,  that  none  of  them  went  much  abroad. 
The  prince  began  to  love  learning;,  and  one  day  declared  to 
Imlac,  that  he  intended  to  devote  himself  to  science,  and  pass 
the  rest  of  his  days  in  literary  solitude. 

"  Before  you  make  your  final  choice,"  answered  Imlac, 
'*  you  ought  to  examine  its  hazards,  and  converse  with  some  of 
those  who  are  grown  old  in  the  company  of  themselves.  I 
have  just  left  the  observatory  of  one  of  the  most  le 


-.  troflomerj^  in  the  world,  who  has  spent  forty  years  in  un 
wearied  attention  to  the  motions  and  appearances  of  the 
celestial  bodies,  and  has  drawn  out  his  soul  in  endless  calcu- 
lations. He  admits  a  few  friends  once  a  month  to  hear  his 

""deductions  and  enjoy  his  discoveries.  I  was  introduced  as  a 
man  of  knowledge  worthy  of  his  notice.  Men  of  various 
ideas  and  fluent  conversation  are  commonly  welcome  to  those 
whose  thoughts  have  been  long  fixed  upon  a  single  point,  and 
who  find  the  images  of  other  things  stealing  away.  I  delight- 
ed him  with  my  remarks  :  he  smiled  at  the  narrative  of  my 
travels,  and  was  glad  to  forget  the  constellations,  and  descend 
for  a  moment  into  the  lower  world. 

"  On  the  next  day  of  vacation  I  renewed  my  visit,  and  was 
so  fortunate  as  to  please  him  again.  He  relaxed  from  that 
time  the  severity  ot  his  rule,  and  permitted  me  to  enter  at  my 
own  choice.  I  found  him  always  busy,  and  always  glad  to 
be  relieved.  As  each  knew  much  which  the  other  was  de- 
sirous of  learning,  we  exchanged  our  notions  with  great  de- 


RASSELAS.  75 

light.  I  perceived  that  I  had  every  day  more  of  his  confi- 
dence, and  always  found  new  cause  of  admiration  in  the 
profundity  of  his  mind.  His  comprehension  is  vast,  his 
memory  capacious  and  retentive  ;  his  discourse  is  methodical, 
and  his  expression  clear. 

"  His  integrity  and  benevolence  are  equal  to  his  learning. 
His  deepest  researches  and  most  favorite  studies  are  willing- 
ly interrupted  for  any  opportunity  of  doing  good  by  his  coun- 
sel or  his  riches.  To  his  closest  retreat,  at  his  most  busy 
moments,  all  are  admitted  that  want  his  assistance.  For 
though  I  exclude  idleness  and  pleasure,  I  will  never,  says  he, 
bar  my  doors  against  charity.  «To  man  is  permitted  the  con- 
templation of  the  skies,  but  me  practice  of  virtue  is  com- 


"  Surely,"  said  the  princess,  "  this  man  is  happy." 
"  I  visited  him,"  said  Imlac,  "  with  more  and  more  fre- 
quency, and  was  every  time  more  enamoured  of  his  con- 
versation: he  was  sublime  without  haughtiness,  courteous 
without  formality,  and  communicative  without  ostentation.  I 
was  at  first,  great  princess,  of  your  opinion,  thought  him  the 
happiest  of  mankind,  and  often  congratulated  him  on  the 
blessing  that  he  enjoyed.  He  seemed  to  hear  nothing  with 
indifference  but  the  praises  of  his  condition,  to  which  ne  al- 
ways returned  a  general  answer,  and  diverted  the  conversa- 
tion to  some  other  topic. 

"  Amidst  this  willingness  to  be  pleased,  and  labor  to 
please,  I  had  quickly  reason  to  imagine  that  some  painful 
sentiment  pressed  upon  his  mind.  He  often  looked  up  ear- 
nestly towards  the  sun,  and  let  his  voice  fall  in  the  midst  of 
his  discourse.  He  would  sometimes,  when  we  were  alone, 
gaze  upon  me  in  silence  with  the  air  of  a  man  who  longed  to 
speak  what  he  was  yet  resolved  to  suppress.  He  would 
often  send  for  me  with  vehement  injunctions  of  haste,  though, 
when  I  came  to  him,  he  had  nothing  extraordinary  to  say. 
And  sometimes,  when  I  was  leaving  him,  would  call  me 
back,  pause  a  few  moments,  and  then  dismiss  me." 


CHAP.  XLI. 

The  Astronomer  discovers  the  Cause  of  his  Uneasiness. 
"  AT  last,  the  time  came  when  the  secret  burst  his  re- 
serve.    We  were  sitting  together  last  night  in  the  turret  of 
his  house,  watching  the  emersion  of  a  satelUte  of  Jupiter.   A 
sudden  tempest  clouded  the  sky,  and  disappointed  our  ob- 


76 


RASSELAS. 


servation.  We  sat  a  while  silent  in  the  dark,  and  then  he 
addressed  himself  to  me  in  these  words  :  Imlac,  I  have  long 
considered  thy  friendship  as  the  greatest  blessing  of  my  life. 
Integrity  without  knowledge  is  weak  and  useless,  and  know- 
J^flge  without  integrity  is  dangerous  and  dreadful.  I  have 
found  in  thee  all  the  qualities  requisite  for  trust ;  benevolence, 
experience,  and  fortitude.  I  have  long  discharged  an  office 
which  I  must  soon  quit  at  the  call  of  nature,  and  shall  rejoice 
in  the  hour  of  imbecility  and  pain  to  devolve  it  upon  thee. 

"  I  thought  myself  honored  by  this  testimony,  and  protest- 
ed that  whatever  could  conduce  to  his  happmess  would  add 
likewise  to  mine. 

"  Hear,  Imlac,  what  thou  wilt  not  without  difficulty  credit. 
I  have  possessed  for  five  years  the  regulation  of  the  weather, 
and  the  distribution  of  the  seasons  :  the  sun  has  listened  to 
my  dictates,  and  passed  from  tropic  to  tropic  by  my  direc- 
tion :  the  clouds,  at  my  call,  have  poured  their  waters,  and 
the  Nile  has  overflowed  at  my  command  :  I  have  restrained 
the  rage  of  the  dog-star,  and  mitigated  the  fervors  of  the 
crab.  ^ he  Grinds  alpne.  of  all  the  elemental  powers,  have 
hitherto  refused  my  authority,  and  multitudes  have  perished 
by  equinoctial  tempests,  which  I  found  myself  unable  to  pro- 
hibit or  restrain.  I  have  administered  this  great  office  with 
wcact  justice,  and  made  to  the  different  nations  of  the  earth 
an  impartial  dividend  of  rain  and  sunshine.  What  must  have 
been  the  misery  of  half  the  globe,  if  I  had  limited  the  clouds 
to  particular  regions,  or  confined  the  sun  to  either  side  of  the 
equator  ?" 

CHAP.  XLII. 

The  Opinion  of  the  Astronomer  is  explained  and  justified. 

"  I  SUPPOSE  he  discovered  in  me,  through  the  obscurity  of 
the  room,  some  tokens  of  amazement  and  doubt;  for,  after  a 
short  pause,  he  proceeded  thus  : 

"  Not  to  be  easily  credited  will  neither  surprise  nor  offend 
me ;  for  I  am  probably  the  first  of  human  beings  to  whom 
this  trust  has  been  imparted.  Nor  do  I  know  whether  to 
deem  this  distinction  a  reward  or  punishment;  since  I  have 
possessed  it,  I  have  been  far  less  happy  than  before,  and 
nothing  but  the  consciousness  of  good  intention  could  have 
enabled  me  to  support  the  weariness  of  unremitted  vigilance. 

"How  long,  sir,  said  f,  has  this  great  office  been  in  your 
hands? 


RASSELAS.  77 

"  About  ten  years  ago,  said  he,  my  daily  observations  of 
the  changes  of  the  sky  led  me  to  consider,  whether,  if  I  had 
the  power  of  the  seasons,  I  could  confer  greater  plenty  upon 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth.  This  contemplation  fastened 
on  my  mind,  and  I  sat  days  and  nights  in  imaginary  domi- 
nion, pouring  upon  this  country  and  that  the  showers  of  fertili- 
ty, and  seconding  every  fall  of  rain  with  a  due  proportion  of 
sunshine.  I  had  yet  only  the  will  to  do  good,  and  did  not 
imagine  that  I  should  ever  have  the  power. 

"  One  day  as  I  was  looking  on  the  fields  withering  with 
heat,  I  felt  in  my  mind  a  sudden  wish  that  I  could  send  rain 
on  the  southern  mountains,  and  raise  the  Nile  to  an  inunda- 
tion. In  the  hurry  of  my  imagination,  I  commanded  rain  to 
fall ;  and  by  comparing  me  time  of  my  command  with  that  of 
the  inundation,  I  found  that  the  clouds  had  listened  to  my 
lips. 

"  Might  not  some  other  cause,  said  I,  produce  this  con- 
currence ?  The  Nile  does  hot  always  rise  on  the  same  day. 

"  Do  not  believe,  said  he,  with  impatience,  that  such  ob- 
jections could  escape  me  :  I  reasoned  long  against  my  own 
conviction,  and  labored  against  truth  with  the  utmost  obsti- 
nacy. I  sometimes  suspected  myself  of  madness,  and  should 
not  have  dared  to  impart  this  secret  but  to  a  man  like  you, 
capable  of  distinguishing  the  wonderful  from  the  impossible, 
and  the  incredible  from  the  false. 

"  Why,  sir,  said  I,  do  you  call  that  incredible  which  you 
know,  or  think  you  know,  to  be  true? 

"  Because,  said  he,  I  cannot  prove  it  by  any  external  evi- 
lence :  and  I  know  too  well  the  laws  of  demonstration,  to 
-think  that  my  conviction  ought  to  influence  another,  who  can- 
not, like  me,  be  conscious  of  its  force.  I,  therefore,  shall 
not  attempt  to  gain  credit  by  disputation.  It  is  sufficient  that 
I  feel  this  power,  that  I  have  long  possessed,  and  every  day 
exerted  it.  But,  the  life  of  man  is  short :  the  infirmities  of 
age  increase~upon  me,  and  tile"  tilinrxvill^oon  come,  when  the 
regulator  of  the  year  must  mingle  with  the  dust,AThe  care 
of  appointing  a  successor  has  long  disturbed  me\  the  night 
and  the  day  nave  been  spent  in  comparisons  of-ail  the  cha- 
racters which  have  come  to  my  knowledge,  and  I  have  yet 
found  none  so  worthy  as  thyself." 


RASSELAS. 


CHAP.  XLIII. 

The  Astronomer  leaves  Imlac  his  Directions, 

"  HEAR,  therefore,  what  I  shall  impart  with  attention,  such 
as  the  welfare  of  a  world  requires.  If  the  task  of  a  king  be 
considered  as  difficult,  who  has  the  care  only  of  a  few  mil- 
lions, to  whom  he  cannot  do  much  good  or  harm,  what  must 
be  the  anxiety  of  him,  on  whom  depends  the  action  of  the 
elements,  and  the  great  gifts  of  light  and  heat?  Hear  me, 
therefore,  with  attention. 

"  I  have  diligently  considered  the  position  of  the  earth  and 
sun,  and  formed  innumerable  schemes,  in  which  I  changed 
their  situation.  I  have  sometimes  turned  aside  the  axis  of 
the  earth,  and  sometimes  varied  the  ecliptic  of  the  sun  :  but 
I  have  found  if.  impossible  to  make  ^  disposition  by  which  the 
world  may  be  advanta-gq^  •  what  gnje  -g^innr  -gains,  ar|«.tJiec 
.  even  without  considering 


^. 

the.  ^ignt  part<^  ftf  the  solar_system  with  which  \vr  JIIT  un 
acuu^imled/  Do  not,  therefore,  in  thy  administration  of  ihe 
year,  indulge  thy  pride  by  innovation  ;  do  not  please  thyself 
with  thinking  that  thou  canst  make  thyself  renowned  to  all 
future  a«es,  by  disordering  the  seasons.  The  memory  of 
mischief  is  no  desirable  fame.  Much  less  will  it  become 
thee  to  let  kindness  or  interest  prevail.  Never  rob  other 
countries  of  rain  to  pour  it  on  thine  own.  For  us  the  Isile 
is  sufficient. 

"  I  promised  that  when  I  possessed  the  power  1  wou.d  use 
it  with  inflexible  integrity  ;  and  he  dismissed  me,  pressing  my 
hand.  —  My  heart,  said  he,  will  be  now  at  rest,  and  my  be- 
nevolence will  no  more  destroy  my  quiet  :  I  have  found  a 
man  of  wisdom  and  virtue,  to  whom  I  can  cheerfully  bequeath 
the  inheritance  of  the  sun." 

The  prince  heard  this  narration  with  very  serious  regard  ; 
but  the  princess  smiled,  and  Pekuah  convulsed  herself  with 
laughter.  "  Ladies,"  said  Imlac,  "to  mock  the  heaviest  of 
human  afflictions  is  neither  charitable  nor  wise.  Few  can 
attain  this  man's  knowledge,  and  few  practise  his  virtues  ; 
but  all  may  suffer  his  calamity.  Of  the  uncertainties  of  our 
present  state,  the  most  dreadful  and  alarming  is  the  uncertain 
continuance  ol  It-ason'."  :? 


RASSELAS.  79 

The  princess  was  recollected,  and  the  favorite  was  abash- 
ed. Rasselas,  more  deeply  affected,  inquired  of  Imlac, 
whether  he  thought  such  maladies  of  the  mind  frequent,  and 
how  they  were  contracted. 


CHAP.  XLIV. 
The  Dangerous  Prevalence  of  Imagination. 

"  DISORDERS  of  intellect,"  answered  Imlac,  "  happen 
much  more  often  than  superficial  observers  will  easily  be- 
lieve. Perhaps  if  we  speak  with  rigorous  exactness,  no  hu- 
man mind  is  in  its  right  state.  There  is  no  man  whose  ima- 
gination does  not  sometimes  predominate  over  his  reason, 
who  can  regulate  his  attention  wholly  by  his  will,  and  whose 
ideas  will  come  and  go  at  his  command.  No  man  will  be 
found  in  whose  mind  airy  notions  do  not  sometimes  tyrannize, 
and  force  him  to  hope  or  fear  beyond  the  limits  of  sober  pro- 
bability. All  power  of  fancy  over  reason  is  ft  Degree  of  in- 
sanity,; but  while  this  power  is  such  as  we  can  control  and 
rapress,  it  is  not  visible  to  others,  nor  considered  as  any  de- 
pravation of  trTe^nental  faculties  :  it  is  uot.pronounced  mad- 
ness'lTurwRell  iMjBL'oiiHJs1  Ungovernable,  and  apparently  in- 
fluenEBs  spe«H!h  Of  aCliuJL  "" 

•*  '1 0  1'iidUlge  the  power  of  fiction,  and  send  imagination 
out  upon  the  wing,  is  often  the  sport  of  those  who  delight  too 
much  in  silent  speculation.  When  we  are  alone  we  are  not 


ness  or  saueiy.  ne  wno  iius  iiuuiuig  cAiernai  mai  can  tuveri 
him  must  find  pleasure  in  his  own  thoughts,  and  must  con- 
ceive himself  what  he  is  not;  for  who  is  pleased  with  what 
he  is  ?  He  then  expatiates  in  boundless  futurity,  and  culls 
from  all  imaginable  conditions  that  which  for  the  present  mo- 
ment he  should  most  desire,  amuses  his  desires  with  impos- 
sible enjoyments,  and  confers  upon  his  pride  unattainable  do- 
minion. The  mind  dances  from  scene  to  scene,  unites  all 
pleasures  in  all  combinations,  and  riots  in  delights  which  na- 
ture and  fortune,  with  all  their  bounty,  cannot  bestow. 

"  In  time^some  particular  train  of  ideas  fixes  the  atten- 
tion :  all  other  intellectual  gratifications  are  rejected  ;  the 
Swind,  in  weariness  or  leisure,  recurs  constantly  to  the  favo- 
rite conception,  and  feasts  on  the  luscious  falsehood  when- 
ever she  is  offended  with  the  bitterness  of  truth.  By  degrees, 
the  reign  of  fancy  is  confirmed ;  she  grows  first  imperious, 
and  in  time  despotic.  Then  .ctions  begin  to  operate  as  reali- 


80  RASSELAS, 

ties,  false  opinions  fasten  upon  the  mind,  and  life  passes  in 
dreams  of  rapture  or  of  anguish. 

"  This,  sir,  is  one  of  the  dangers  of  solitude ;  which  the 

hermit  has  confessed  ftflt  always  promotes  goodness,  and  the 

astronomer's  misery  has  proved  to  be  not  always  propitious 
to  wisdom." 

"  I  will  no  more,"  said  the  favorite,  "  imagine  myself  the 
queen  of  Abissinia.  I  have  often  spent  the  hours,  which 
the  princess  gave  to  my  own  disposal,  in  adjusting  ceremo- 
nies, and  regulating  the  court ;  I  have  repressed  the  pride  of 
the  powerful,  and  granted  the  petitions  of  the  poor;  I  have 
built  new  palaces  in  more  happy  situations,  planted  groves 
upon  the  tops  of  mountains,  and  have  exulted  in  the  bene- 
ficence of  royalty,  till,  when  the  princess  entered,  I  had  al- 
most forgotten  to  bow  down  before  her." 

"  And  I,"  said  the  princess,  "  will  not  allow  myself  any 
more  to  play  the  shepherdess  in  my  waking  dreams.  I  have 
often  soothed  my  thoughts  with  the  quiet  and  innocence  of 
pastoral  employment,  till  I  have  in  my  chamber  heard  the 
winds  whistle,  and  the  sheep  bleat;  sometimes  freed  the  lamb 
entangled  in  the  thicket,  and  sometimes  with  my  crook  en- 
countered the  wolf.  I  have  a  dress  like  that  of  the  village 
maids,  which  I  put  on  to  help  rny  imagination,  and  a  pipe  on 
which  I  play  softly,  and  suppose  myself  followed  by  my 
flocks." 

"  I  will  confess,"  said  the  prince,  "  an  indulgence  of  fan- 
tastic delight  more  dangerous  than  yours.  I  have  frequently 
endeavored  to  imagine  the  possibility  of  a  perfect  govern- 
ment, by  which  all  wrong  should  be  restrained,  all  vice  reform- 
ed, and  all  the  subjects  preserved  in  tranquillity  and  inno- 
cence. This  thought  produced  innumerable  schemes  of  re- 
formation, and  dictated  many  useful  regulations  and  salutary 
edicts.  This  has  been  the  sport,  and  sometimes  the  labor, 
of  my  solitude  :  and  I  start,  when  I  think  with  how  little 
anguish  J  once  supposed  the  death  of  my  father  and  my  bro- 
tners." 

"  Such, "  said  Imlac,  u  are  the  effects  of  visionary 
scnemes  :  when  we  first  form  them,  we  know  them  to  be  ab- 
surd, but  familiarize  them  by  degrees,  and  in  time  lose  sight 
of  their  folly." 

CHAP.  XLV. 

They  discourse  with  an  old  Man. 

THE  evening  was  now  far  past,  and  they  rose  to  return 
home.  As  they  walked  alunii  the  bank  of  the  Nile,  delight- 


RASSELAS.  81 

ed  with  ihe  beams  of  the  moon  quivering  on  the  water,  they 
saw,  at  a  small  distance,  an  old  man  whom  the  prince  had 
often  heard  in  the  assembly  of  the  sages.  "  Yonder,"  said 
he,  "  is  one  whose  years  have  calmed  his  passions,  but  not 
clouded  his  reason  :  let  us  close  the  disquisitions  of  the  night, 
by  inquiring  what  are  his  sentiments  of  his  own  state,  that 
we  may  know  whether  youth  alone  is  to  struggle  with  vexa- 
tion, and  whether  any  better  hope  remains  for  the  latter  part 
of  life." 

Here  the  sage  approached  and  saluted  them.  They  invit- 
ed him  to  join  their  walk,  and  prattled  a  while  as  acquaint- 
ance that  had  unexpectedly  met  one  another.  The  old  man 
was  cheerful  and  talkative,  and  the  way  seemed  short  in  his 
company.  He  was  pleased  to  find  himself  not  disregarded, 
accompanied  them  to  their  house,  and,  at  the  prince's  request, 
entered  with  them.  They  placed  him  in  the  seat  of  honor, 
and  set  wine  and  conserves  before  him. 

"  Sir,"  said  the  princess,  "  an  evening  walk  must  give  to  a 
man  of  learning  like  you  pleasures  whic'h  ignorance  and  youth 
can  hardly  conceive.  You  know  the  qualities  and  the  causes 
of  all  that  you  behold,  the  laws  by  which  the  river  flows,  tne 
periods  in  which  the  planets  perform  their  revolutions.  Every 
thing  must  supply  you  with  contemplation,  and  renew  the 
consciousness  of  your  own  dignity." 

"  Lady,"  answered  he,  "  let  the  gay  and  the  vigorous  ex- 
pect pleasure  in  their  excursions  :  it  is  enough  th 


attain    ease.      Tn  m,e  fta  wnr|rl    has  Inaf  j|s   nnvphy^    I  look  *>••* 

round,  and  see  wKat  I  remember  to  have  seen  in  happier  days. 
I  rest  against  a  tree,  and  consider,  that  in  the  same  shade  I 
once  disputed  upon  the  annual  overflow  of  the  Nile  with  a 
friend  who  is  now  silent  in  the  grave.  I  cast  my  eyes  up- 
wards, fix  them  on  the  changing  moon,  and  think  with  pain 
on  the  vicissitudes  of  life.  I  have  ceased  to  take  much  de- 
light in  physical  truth  ;  for  what  have  I  to  do  with  those  things 
which  I  am  soon  to  leave  ?M 

"  You  may  at  least  recreate  yourself,"  said  Imlac,  "  with 
the  recollection  of  an  honorable  and  useful  life,  and  enjoy  the 
praise  which  all  agree  to  give  you." 

"  Praise,"  said  the  sage,  with  a  sigh,  "  is  to  an  old  man  an 
empty  sound.  I  have  neither  mother  to  be  delighted  with 
the  reputation  of  her  son,  nor  wife  to  partake  the  honors  ol 
her  husband.  I  have  outlived  my  friends  and  my  rivals. 
Nothing  is  now  of  much  importance  ;  for  I  cannot  extend 
my  interest  beyond  myself.  Youth  is  delighted  withapplause« 
^jMBcagse  it  isconsidered  as  tttcTearnest  of  some  fulur^gbod, 


82  KASSELAS. 

and  because  the  prospect  of  life  is  far  extended  :  but  to  me, 
who  am  now  declining  to  decrepitude,  there  is  little  to  be 
feared  from  the  malevolence  of  men,  and  yet  less  to  be  hoped 
from  their  affection  or  esteem.  Something  they  may  yet 
take  away,  but  they  can  give  me  nothing.  Riches  would 
now  be  useless,  and  high  employment  would  be  pain.  My 
retrospect  of  life  recalls  to  my  view  many  opportunities  of 
good  neglected,  much  time  squandered  upon  trifles,  and  more 
;ost  in  idleness  and  vacancy.  I  leave  many  great  designs 
unattempted,  and  many  great  attempts  unfinished.  My  mind 
is  burdened  with  no  heavy  crime,  and  therefore  I  compose 
myself  to  tranquillity ;  endeavor  to  abstract  my  thoughts 
from  hopes  and  cares,  which,  though  reason  knows  them  to 
ae  vain,  still  try  to  keep  their  old  possession  of  the  heart ;  ex- 
pect, with  serene  humility,  that  hour  which  nature  cannot 
long  delay,  and  hope  to  possess,  in  a  better  state,  that  hap- 
piness which  here  I  could  not  find,  and  that  virtue  which  here 
i  have  not  attained." 

^  He  arose  and  went  away,  leaving  his  audience  not  much 
elated  with  the  hope  of  long  life.  The  prince  consoled  him- 
self with  remarking,  that  it  was  not  reasonable  to  be  disap- 
pointed by  this  account ;  for  age  had  never  been  considered 
as  the  season  of  felicity,  and,  if  it  was  possible  to  be  easy  in 
decline  and  weakness,  it  was  likely  that  the  days  of  vigor 
and  alacrity  might  be  happy :  that  the  noon  of  life  might  be 
Dright,  if  the  evening  could  be  calm. 

The  princess  suspected  that  age  was  querulous  and  ma- 
Lgnant,  and  delighted  to  repress  the  expectations  of  those 
wno  had  newly  entered  the  world.  She  had  seen  the  pos- 
sessors of  estates  look  with  envy  on  their  heirs,  and  known 
many  who  enjoyed  pleasure  no  longer  than  they  could  con- 
fine it  to  themselves. 

Pekuah  conjectured  that  the  man  was  older  than  he  ap- 
peared, and  was  willing  to  impute  his  complaints  to  delirious 
dejection ;  or  else  supposed  mat  he  had  been  unfortunate, 
and  was  therefore  discontented  :  "  For  nothing,"  said  she, 
lf  is  more  common  than  to  call  our  own  condition  the  condi- 
tion of  life." 

Imlac,  who  had  no  desire  to  see  them  depressed,  smiled  at 
the  comforts  which  they  could  so  readily  procure  to  them- 
selves ;  and  remembered,  that  at  the  same  age  he  was 
equally  confident  of  unmingled  prosperity,  and  equally  fertile 
of  consolatory  expedients.  He  forbore  to  force  upon  them 
unwelcome  knowledge,  which  time  itself  would  too  soon  im- 
press. The  princess  and  her  lady  retired  ;  the  madness  of 


RASSELAS.  83 

iho  astronomer  hung  upon  their  minds;  and  they  desired 
Imlac  to  enter  upon  his  office,  and  delay  next  morning  the 
rising  of  the  sun. 

CHAP.  XL VI. 

The  Princess  and  Pekuah  visit  the  Astronomer. 

THE  princess  and  Pekuah  having  talked  in  private  of 
Mac's  astronomer,  thought  his  character  at  once  so  amiable 
and  so  strange,  that  they  could  not  be  satisfied  without  a 
nearer  knowledge;  and  Imlac  was  requested  to  find  the 
means  of  bringing  them  together. 

This  was  somewhat  difficult ;  the  philosopher  had  never 
received  au^  viiJllM  Irom  wunibli^  though  he  lived  in  a  city" 
that  llad  lli  11  llia.iij'  Euiupeaus,^ho  followed  the  manners  of 
their*own  countries,  and  many  from  other  parts  of  the  world, 
that  lived  there  with  European  liberty.  The  ladies  would 
not.  be  refused,  and  several  schemes  were  proposed  for  the 
accomplishment  of  their  design.  It  was  proposed  to  intro- 
duce them  as  strangers  in  distress,  to  whom  the  sage  was 
always  accessible  ;  but,  after  some  deliberation,  it  appeared, 
that  by  this  artifice,  no  acquaintance  could  be  formed,  for 
their  conversation  would  be  short,  and  they  could  not  de- 
cently importune  him  often.  "  This,"  said  Rasselas,  "  is 
true  :  but  I  have  yet  a  stronger  objection  against  the  mis- 
representation of  your  state.  I  have  always  considered  it 
as  treason  against  the  great  republic  of  human  nature,  to 
make  any  man's  virtues  the  means  of  deceiving  him,  whe- 
ther on  great  or  little  occasions.  All  imposture  weakens 
confidence,  and  chills  benevolence.  Wnen  the  sage  tinds 
thatydu  are  not  whaf  you  seemed,  he  will  feel  the  resent- 
ment natural  to  a  man  who,  conscious  of  great  abilities,  dis- 
covers that  he  has  been  tricked  by  understandings  meaner 
than  his  own,  and,  perhaps,  the  distrust  which  he  can  never 
afterwards  wholly  lay  aside  may  stop  the  voice  of  counsel, 
and  close  the  hand  of  charity  ;  and  where  will  you  find  the 
power  of  restoring  his  benefactions  to  mankind,  or  his  peace 
to  himself?" 

To  this  no  reply  was  attempted,  and  Imlac  began  to  hope 
that  their  curiosity  would  subside ;  but,  next  day,  Pekuah 
told  him,  she  had  now  found  anhonest  pretence  for  a  visit  to 
the  astronomer,  for  she  would  s* jici^ermissioiTto  continue 
under  him  the  studies jnjwhich ..shfiJiaQeeTTimtiated  by  the 
Arab^jincT  the  princess  might  go  with  her,  eitherlDs  a  fellow- 
siudent,  or  because  a  woman  could  not  decently  come  alone. 


84  RASSELAS. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  Imlac,  "  that  he  will  soon  be  weary  ot 
your  company  ;  men  advanced  far  in  knowledge  do  not  love 
to  repeat  the  elements  of  their  art ;  and  I  am  not  certain 
that  even  of  the  elements,  as  he  will  deliver  them  connected 
with  inferences  and  mingled  with  reflections,  you  are  a  very 
ca'pable  auditress."  <:  That,"  said  Pekuah,  "  must  be  my 
care  :  I  ask  of  you  only  to  take  me  thither.  My  knowledge 
is,  perhaps,  more  than  you  imagine  it  ;  and  by  concurring 
always  with  his  opinions,  1  shall  make  him  think  it  greater 
than  it  is." 

The  astronomer,  in  pursuance  of  this  resolution,  was  told 
that  a  foreign  lady,  travelling  in  search  of  knowledge,  had 
heard  of  his  reputation,  and  was  desirous  to  become  his 
scholar.  The  uncommonness  of  the  proposal  raised  at  once 
his  surprise  and  curiosity,  and  when,  after  a  short  delibera- 
tion, he  consented  to  admit  her,  he  could  not  stay  without 
impatience  till  the  next  day. 

The  ladies  dressed  themselves  magnificently,  and  were 
attended  by  Imlac  to  the  astronomer,  who  was  pleased  to 
see  himself  approached  with  respect  by  persons  of  so  splen- 
did an  appearance.  In  the  exchange  of  the  first  civilities, 
he  was  timorous  and  bashful ;  but  when  the  talk  became  re- 
gular, he  recollected  his  powers,  and  justified  the  character 
which  Imlac  had  given.  Inquiring  of  Pekuah  what  could 
have  turned  her  inclination  towards  astronomy,  he  received 
from  her  a  history  of  her  adventure  at  the  pyramid,  and  of 
the  time  passed  in  the  Arab's  island.  She  told  her  tale  with 
ease  and  elegance,  and  her  conversation  took  possession  oi 
his  heart.  The  discourse  was  then  turned  to  astronomy : 
Pekuah  displayed  what  she  knew  :  he  looked  upon  her  as  a 
prodigy  of  genius,  and  entreated  her  not  to  desist  from  a 
study  which  she  had  so  happily  begun, 

They  came  again  and  again,  and  were  every  time  more 
welcome  than  before.  The  sage  endeavored  to  amuse  them, 
that  they  might  prolong  their  visits,  for  he  found  his  thoughts 
grow  brighter  in  their  company ;  the  clouds  of  solicitude 
vanished  by  degrees,  as  he  forced  himself  to  entertain  them, 
and  he  grieved  when  he  was  left,  at  their  departure,  to  his 
old  employment  of  regulating  the  seasons. 

The  princess  and  her  favorite  had  now  watched  his  lips 
for  several  months,  and  could  not  catch  a  single  word  from 
which  they  could  judge  whether  he  continued,  or  not,  in  the 
opinion  of  his  preternatural  commission.  They  often  con 
trived  to  bring  him  to  an  open  declaration ;  but  he  easily 


RASSELAS.  85 

eluded  all  their  attacks,  and,  on  which  side  soever  they 
pressed  him,  escaped  from  them  to  some  other  topic. 

As  their  familiarity  increased,  they  invited  him  often  to 
the  house  of  Imlac,  where  they  distinguished  him  by  extra- 
ordinary respect.  He  began  gradually  to  delight  in  sublu- 
nary pleasures.  He  came  early,  and  departed  late  ;  labored 
to  recommend  himself  by  assiduity  and  compliance,  excited 
their  curiosity  after  new  arts,  that  they  might  still  want  his 
assistance ;  and  when  they  made  any  excursion  of  pleasure 
or  inquiry,  entreated  to  attend  them. 

By  long  experience  of  his  integrity  and  wisdom,  the  prince 
and  nis  sister  were  convinced  that  he  might  be  trusted  without 
danger :  and,  lest  he  should  draw  any  false  hopes  from  the 
civilities  which  he  received,  discovered  to  him  their  condition, 
with  the  motives  of  their  journey,  and  required  his  opinion  on 
the  choice  of  life. 

"  Of  the  various  conditions  which  the  world  spreads  before 
you,  which  you  shall  prefer,"  said  the  sage,  "I  am  not  able 
to  instruct  you.  I  can  only  tell  that  I  have  chosen  wrong. 
I  have  passed  my  time  in  study  without  experience :  in  the 
attainment  of  sciences  which  can,  for  the  most  part,  be  but 
remotely  useful  to  mankind.  I  have  purchased  knowledge  at 
the  expense  of  all  the  common  comforts  of  life  :  I  have  missed 
the  endearing  elegance  of  female  friendship,  and  the  happy 
commerce  01  domestic  tenderness.  If  I  have  obtained  any 
prerogatives  above  other  students,  they  have  been  accompa- 
nied with  fear,  disquiet,  and  scrupulosity ;  but  even  of  these 
prerogatives,  whatever  the^  were,  I  have,  since  my  thoughts 
have  been  diversified  by  more  intercourse  with  the  world,  be- 
gun to  question  the  reality.  When  I  have  been  for  a  few 
days  lost  in  pleasing  dissipation,  I  am  always  tempted  to  think 
that  my  inquiries  have  ended  in  error,  and  that  I  have  suffer- 
ed much,  and  suffered  it  in  vain." 

Imlac  was  delighted  to  find  that  the  sage's  understanding 
was  breaking  through  its  mists,  and  resolved  to  detain  him 
from  the  planets  till  he  should  forget  his  task  of  ruling  them, 
and  reason  should  recover  its  original  influence. 

From  this  time  the  astronomer  was  received  into  familiar 
friendship,  and  partook  of  all  their  projects  and  pleasures : 
his  respect  kept  him  attentive,  and  the  activity  of  Rasselas 
did  not  leave  much  time  unengaged.  Something  was  always 
to  be  done  :  the  day  was  spent  in  making  observations,  which 
furnished  talk  for  the  evening,  and  the  evening  was  closed 
with  a  scheme  for  the  morrow. 

The  sage  confessed  to  Imlac,  that  since  he  had  mingled  in 


86  •  RASSELAS. 

the  gay  tumults  of  life,  and  divided  his  hours  by  a  succession 
of  amusements,  he  found  the  conviction  of  his  authority  over 
the  skies  fade  gradually  from  his  mind,  and  began  to  trust  less 
to  an  opinion  which  he  never  could  prove  to  others,  and  which 
he  now  found  subject  to  variation,  from  causes  in  which  rea- 
son had  no  part.  "  If  I  am  accidentally  left  alone  for  a  few 
hours,"  said  he,  "  my  inveterate  persuasion  rushes  upon  my 
soul,  and  my  thoughts  are  chained  down  by  some  irresistible 
violence  ;  but  they  are  soon  disentangled  by  the  prince's  con- 
versation, and  instantaneously  released  at  the  entrance  of 
Pekuah.  I  am  like  a  man  habitually  afraid  of  spectres,  who 
is  set  at  ease  by  a  lamp,  and  wonders  at  the  dread  which 
harassed  him  in  the  dark,  yet,  if  his  lamp  be  extinguished, 
feels  again  the  terrors  which  he  knows  that  when  it  is  light  he 
shall  feel  no  more.  But  I  am  sometimes  afraid,  lest  I  indulge 
my  quiet  by  criminal  negligence,  and  voluntarily  forget  the  great 
charge  with  which  I  am  intrusted.  If  I  favor  myself  in  a 
known  error,  or  am  determined  by  my  own  ease  in  a  doubtful 
question  of  this  importance,  how  dreadful  is  my  crime  !" 

"No  disease  of  the  imagination,"  answered  Imlac,  "  is  so 
difficult  of  cure,  as  that  which  is  complicated  with  the  dread 
of  guilt;  fancy  and  conscience  then  act  interchangeably  upon 
us,  and  so  often  shift  their  places,  that  the  illusions  of  one  are 
not  distinguished  from  the  dictates  of  the  other.  If  fancy 
presents  images  not  moral  or  religious,  the  mind  drives  them 
away  when  they  give  it  pain  ;  but  when  melancholy  notions 
take  the  fftrm  nf  rkityj  theylay  Hold  on  the  faculties  without 


^opposition,  because  we  are  afraid  to  exclude  or  banisJLlbSn. 

"TP'or  this  reason  the  superstifioil^rft  ffrten  melancholy,  and 
the  melancholy  almost  always  superstitious. 

"  But  do  not  let  the  suggestions  of  timidity  overpower  your 
better  reason  :  the  danger  of  neglect  can  be  but  as  the  proba- 
bility of  the  obligation,  which,  when  you  consider  it  with  free- 
dom, you  find  very  little,  and  that  little  growing  every  day 
less.  Open  your  heart  to  the  influence  of  the  light,  which, 
from  time  to  time,  breaks  in  upon  you  :  when  scruples  im- 
portune you,  which  you  in  your  lucid  moments  know  to  be 
vain,  do  not  stand  to  parley,  but  fly  to  business,  or  to  Pekuah  ; 
and  keep  this  thought  always  prevalent,  that  you  are  only  one 
atom  of  the  mass  of  humanity,  and  have  neither  such  virtue 
nor  vice  as  that  you  should  be  singled  out  for  supernatura. 
favors  or  afflictions." 


RASSELAS.  87 


CHAP.  XL VII. 

The  Prince  enters  and  brings  a  new  Topic. 

"  ALL  this,"  said  the  astronomer,  "  I  have  often  thought 
but  my  reason  has  been  so  long  subjugated  by  an  uncontrol- 
iable  and  overwhelming  idea,  that  it  durst  not  confide  in  its 
own  decisions.  I  now  see  how  fatally  I  betrayed  my  quiet, 
by  suffering  chimeras  to  prey  upon  me  in  secret ;  but  melan- 
choly shrinks  from  communication,  and  I  never  found  a  man 
before  to  whom  I  could  impart  my  troubles,  though  I  had 
been  certain  of  relief.  I  rejoice  to  find  my  own  sentiments 
confirmed  by  yours,  who  are  not  easily  deceived,  and  can 
have  no  motive  or  purpose  to  deceive.  I  hope  that  time  and 
variety  will  dissipate  the  gloom  that  has  so  long  surrounded 
aie,  and  the  latter  part  of  my  days  will  be  spent  in  peace," 

"  Your  learning  and  virtue,"  said  Imlac,  "  may  justly  giro 
you  hopes." 

Rasselas  then  entered,  with  the  princess  and  Pekuah,  and 
inquired  whether  they  had  contrived  any  new  diversion  for 
the  next  day.  "  Such,"  said  Nekayah,  "  is  the  state  of  life, 
that  none  are  happy  but^bythe  anticipation  of  change  :  the  ^ 
changertself  is  nothing  ;wn  en  we  "have  made  it.  the  next 
-^l§fristo  cfiange  again^,  The  world  is  not  yet~exhaustecT; 
let  me  see  something  to-morrow  which  I  never  saw  before." 

"  ~\£ariety,"  said  Rasselas,  "  is  so  necessary  to  content, 
that  even  tne  happy  valley  disgusted  me  by  the  recurrence  ot  •"— 
its  luxuries  ;  yet  I  could  not  forbear  to  reproach  myself  with 
impatience,  when  I  saw  the  monks  of  St.  Anthony  support, 
without  complaint,  a  life,  not  of  uniform  delight,  but  uniform 
hardship." 

"  Those  men,"  answered  Imlac,  "are  less  wretched  in 
their  silent  convent  than  the  Abissinian  princes  in  their  pri- 
son of  pleasure.  Whatever  is  done  by  the  mon'-s  is  incited 
Oy  an  adequate  and  reasonable  motive.  Their  labor  supplies 
them  with  necessaries  ;  it  therefore  cannot  be  omitted,  and  is 
certainly  rewarded.  Their  devotion  prepares  them  for  ano- 
ther state,  and  reminds  them  of  its  approach,  while  it  fits  them 
for  it.  Their  time  is  regularly  distributed  ;  one  duty  succeeds 
another  ;  so  that  they  are  not  left  open  to  the  distraction  of 
unguided  choice,  nor  lost  in  the  shades  of  listless  inactivity. 
There  is  a  certain  task  to  be  performed  at  an  appropriated 


88  RASSELAS. 

nour;  and  their  toils  are  cheerful,  because  they  consider  them 
as  acts  of  piety,  by  which  they  are  always  advancing  towards 
endless  felicity." 

4 'Do  you  think,"  said  Nekayah,  "that  the  monastic  rule 
is  a  more  holy  and  less  imperfect  state  than  any  other?  May 
not  he  equally  hope  for  future  happiness  who  converses  open- 
ly with  mankind,  who  succors  the  distressed  by  his  charity, 
instructs  the  ignorant  by  his  learning,  and  contributes  by  his 
industry  to  the  general  system  of  life  ;  even  though  he  should 
omit  some  of  the  mortifications  which  are  practised  in  the 
cloister,  and  allow  himself  such  harmless  delights,  as  his  con 
dition  may  place  within  his  reach  ?" 

"  This,"  said  Imlac,  "  is  a  question  which  has  long  divided 
the  wise,  and  perplexed  the  good.  I  am  afraid  to  decide  on 
either  part^He  that  lives  well  in  the  world  is  better  than  he 
that  lives  well  in  a  monastery^  But,  perhaps,  every  one  is 
not  able  to  stem  the  temptations  of  public  life  ;  and,  if  he  can- 
not conquer,  he  may  properly  retreat.  Some  have  liifle 
power  to  do  good,  ancl  have  likewise  little  strength  to  resist 
evil.  Many  are  weary  of  their  conflicts  with  adversity,  and 
are  willing  to  eject  those  passions  which  have  long  busied 
them  in  vain.  And  many  are  dismissed  by  age  and  diseases 
from  the  more  laborious  duties  of  society.  In  monasteries 
the  weak  and  timorous  may  be  happily  sheltered,  the  weary 
may  repose,  and  the  penitent  may  meditate.  Those  retreats 
of  prayer  and  contemplation  have  something  so  congenial  to 
the  mind  of  man,  that,  perhaps,  there  is  scarcely  one  that 
does  not  purpose  to  close  his  life  in  pious  abstraction,  with  a 
few  associates  serious  as  himself." 

"  Such,"  said  Pekuah,  "  has  often  been  my  wish ;  and  I 
have  heard  the  princess  declare,  that  she  should  not  willingly 
die  in  a  crowd. 

"  The  liberty  of  using  harmless  pleasures,"  proceeded  Im- 
lac, "  will  not  be  disputed;  but  it  is  still  to  be  examined  what 
pleasures  are  harmless.  The  evil  of  any  pleasure  that  Ne- 
kayah can  image  is  not  in  the  act  itself,  but  in  its  conse- 
quences. Pleasure,  in  itself  harmless,  may  become  mischiev- 
ous, by  endearing  to  us  a  state  which  we  know  to  be  transient 
and  probatory,  and  withdrawing  our  thoughts  from  that,  of 
which  every  hour  brings  us  nearer  to  the  beginning,  and  of 
which  no  length  of  time  will  bring  us  to  the  end.  Mortifica- 
tion is  not  virtuous  in  itself,  nor  has  any  other  use,  but  that  it 
disengages  us  from  the  allurements  of  sense.  In  the  state  of 
future  perfection,  to  which  we  all  aspire,  there  will  be  plea- 
sure without  danger,  and  security  without  restraint." 


RASSELAS.  gf) 

The  princess  was  silent,  and  Rasselas,  turning  to  the  as- 
fronomer,  asked  him  whether  he  could  not  delay  her  retreat, 
iy  showing  her  something  which  she  had  not  seen  before. 

"  Your  curiosity,"  said  the  sage,  "has  been  so  general, 
and  your  pursuit  of  knowledge  so  vigorous,  that  novelties  are 
not  now  very  easily  to  be  found  :  but  what  you  can  no  longer 
procure  from  the  living  may  be  given  by  the  dead.  Among  »*» 
m  ttowmenders  of  this  connffry  an?  the  r.qjacombg.  or  the  ancient 
jreppsitorifi^  in  which  the  bodies  of  the  earliest  generations 
we're  lodged,  and  where,  by  the  virtue  of  the  gums  which  em- 
balmed them,  they  yet  remain  without  corruption." 

"  I  know  not,"  said  Rasselas,  "  what  pleasure  the  sight  of 
the  catacombs  can  afford  ;  but,  since  nothing  else  is  offered, 
I  am  resolved  to  view  them,  and  shall  place  this  with  many 
other  things  which  I  have  done,  because  I  would  do  some- 
thing." 

They  hired  a  guard  of  horsemen,  and  the  next  day  visited 
the  catacombs.  When  they  were  about  to  descend  into  the 
sepulchral  caves,  "  Pekuah,"  said  the  princess,  "  we  are  now 
again  invading  the  habitations  of  the  dead,  I  know  that  you 
will  stay  behind  ;  let  me  find  you  safe  when  I  return." — "  No, 
I  will  not  be  left,"  answered  Pekuah :  "  I  will  go  down  be- 
tween you  and  the  prince." 

They  then  all  descended,  and  roved  with  wonder  through 
the  labyrinth  of  subterraneous  passages,  where  the  bodies 
were  laid  in  rows  on  either  side. 

CHAP.  XLVJII. 
Imlac  discourses  on  the  Nature  of  the  Soul. 

"  WHAT  reason,"  said  the  prince,  "  can  be  given,  why  the 
Egyptians  should  thus  expensively  preserve  those  carcasses 
which  some  nations  consume  with  fire,  others  lay  to* mingle 
with  the  earth,  and  all  agree  to  remove  from  their  sight  as 
soon  as  decent  rites  can  be  performed  ?" 

"  Xhe  original  of  ancient  customs,"  said  Imlac,  "  is  com- 
jnonlJlUIlknown  i  foiTthe  practiclToften  continues  when  the 
cause  has  ceased  :  and  concerning  superstitious  ceremonies, 
it  is  vain  to  conjecture  ;  for_juzl«kt. .reason  did  not  dictate, 
reason  cannot  explain.  I  'nave  long  believed  that  the  prac- 
ticg-Qi^fimffrtilli'Miu  ijfjEse  only  from  tenderness  to  the  remains  of 
relations  or  friends ;  and  to  this  opinion  I  am  more  inclined , 
because  it  seems  impossible  that  this  care  should  have  been 
general;  had  all  the  dead  been  embalmed,  their  repositories 
must  in  time  have  been  more  spacious  than  the  dwellings  of 


90  RASSELAS 

the  living.  I  jaipiK)se  only  the  rich  or  honorable  were  se- 
cured from  corruptiofr,  and  the  rest  let't  to  the  courseof  na- 
thti'u. — 

•"-*HBut  it  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  Egyptians  believed 
the  soul  to  live  as  long  as  the  body  continued  undissolved, 
and  therefore  tried  this  method  of  eluding  death." 

"Could  the  wise  Egyptians,"  said  Nekayah,  "think  so 
grossly  of  the  soul  ?  If  the  soul  could  once  survive  its  sepa- 
ration, what  could  it  afterwards  receive  or  suffer  from  the 
body  ?" 

"  The  Egyptians  would  doubtless  think  erroneously,"  said 
the  astronomer,  "  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism,  and  the 
first  dawn  of  philosophy.  The  nature  of  the  soul  is  still  dis- 
puted, amidst  all  our  opportunities  of  clearer  knowledge: 
some  yet  say,  that  it  may  be  material,  who,  nevertheless, 
believe  it  to  be  immortal. 

"  Some,"  answered  Imlac,  "  have  indeed  said  that  the 
soul  is  material,  but  I  can  scarcely  believe  that  any  man  has 
thought  it  who  knew  how  to  think  ;  for  all  the  conclusions  ot 
reason  enforce  the  immateriality  of  mind,  and  all  the  notices 
of  sense  and  investigations  of  science  concur  to  prove  the  un- 
consciousness of  matter. 

"  It  was  never  supposed  that  cogitation  is  inherent  in  mat- 
tor,  or  that  every  particle  is  a  thinking  being.  Yet  if  any 
part  of  matter  be  devoid  of  thought,  what  part  can  wfe  sup-** 
pose  to  think  ?  IV^^ter,  can  diflk&Jrom  matter  only  ifcTmynV 
density,  bulk,  motion,  and  direction  of  motion.  To  whicnof 
these,  however  varied  or  combined,  can  consciousness  be  an- 
nexed ?  To  be  round  or  square,  to  be  solid  or  fluid,  to  be 
great  or  little,  to  be  moved  slowly  or  swiftly,  one  way  or  an- 
other, are  modes  of  material  existence,  all  equally  alien  from 
the  nature  of  cogitation.  If  matter  be  once  without  thought, 
it  can  only  be  made  to  think  by  some  new  modification  ;  but 
all  the  modifications  which  it  can  admit  are  equally  uncon- 
nected with  cogitative  powers." 

"  But  the  materialists,"  said  the  astronomer,  "  urge  that 
matter  may  hi"Q^["/^itifii:i  Ht-h  which,  we  are  u<niM'iflffgi°ffif*  " 

"  He  who  will  determine,"  returned  Imlac,  "  against  that 
which  he  knows,  because  there  may  be  something  which  he 
knows  not ,  he  that  can  set  hypothetical  possibility  against 
acknowledged  certainty,  is  not  to  be  admitted  among  reason- 
able beings.  All  that  we  know  of  matter  is,  that  matter  is 
inert,  senseless,  and  lifeless  ;  and  if  this  conviction  cannot  be 
opposed  but  by  referring  us  to  something  that  we  know  not, 
we  have  all  the  evidence  that  human  intellect  can  admit. 


RASSELAS.  91 

If  that  which  is  known  may  be  overruled  by  that  which  is 
unknown,  no  being,  not  omniscient,  can  arrive  at  certainty." 

"  Yet  let  us  not,"  said  the  astronomer,  "  too  arrogantly 
kimit  the  Creator's  power." 

"  It  is  no  limitation  of  Omnipotence,"  replied  the  poet, 
"  to  suppose  that  one  thing  is  rnt  ynTKlstPnt  r'tjr^  °"»*'«"-J 
that  the  same  propdsiriTffr  cannot  ne  at  once  true  and  false, 
that  the  same  number  cannot  be  even  and  odd,  that  cogita- 
tion cannot  be  conferred  on  that  which  is  created  incapable 
of  cogitation." 

"  I  know  not,"  said  Nekayah,  "  any  great  use  of  this 
question.  Does  that  immateriality,  which,  in  my  opinion, 
you  have  sufficiently  proved,  necessarily  include  eternal 
duration?" 

"  Of  immateriality,"  said  Imlac,  "  our  ideas  are  negative, 
and  therefore  obscure.  Immateriality  seems  to  imply  a  na- 
tural power  of  perpetual  duration  as  a  consequence  of  ex- 
emption from  all  causes  of  decay  :  whatever  perishes  is 
destroyed  by  the  solution  of  its  contexture,  and  separation 
of  its  parts  ;  nor  can  we  conceive  how  that  which  has  no 
parts,  and  therefore  admits  no  solution,  can  be  naturally 
corrupted  or  impaired." 

*  "  I  know  not,"  said  Rasselas,  "  how  to  conceive  any 
thing  without  extension  :  what  is  extended  must  have  parts, 
and  you  allow  that  whatever  has  parts  may  be  destroyed." 

"  Consider  your  own  conceptions,"  replied  Imlac,  "  and 
the  difficulty  will  be  less.  You  will  find  substance  without 
extension.  An  ideal  form  is  no  less  real  than  material  bulk  ; 
yet  an  ideal  form  has  no  extension.  It  is  no  less  certain, 
when  you  think  on  a  pyramid,  that  your  mind  possesses  the 
idea  of  a  pyramid,  thaii  that  the  pyramid  itself  is  standing. 
What  space  does  the  idea  of  a  pyramid  occupy  more  than 
the  idea  of  a  grain  of  corn  ?  or  how  can  either  idea  suffer 
laceration  ?  As  is  the  effect,  such  is  the  cause  ;  as  thought, 
such  is  the  power  that  thinks,  a  power  impassive  and  in- 
discerptible." 

"  But  the  Being,"  said  Nekayah,  "  whom  I  fear  to  name, 
the  Being  which  made  the  soul,  can  destroy  it." 

"  He  surely  can  destroy  it,"  answered  Tmlac,  "  since, 
however  unperishable,  it  receives  from  a  superior  nature  its 
power  of  duration.  That  it  will  not  perish  by  any  inherent 
cause  of  decay,  or  principle  of  corruption,  may  be  shown  by 
philosophy  ;  but  philosophy  can  tell  no  more.  That  it  will 


92  RASSELAS. 

not  be  annihilated  by  Him  that  made  it,  we  must  humbly 
learn  from  higher  authority." 

The  whole  assembly  stood  a  while  silent,  and  collected. 
"  Let  us  return,"  said  Rasselas,  "  from  this  scene  of  mor- 
tality. How  gloomy  would  be  those  mansions  of  the  dead 
to  him  who  did  not  know  that  he  should  never  die ;  that 
what  now  acts  shall  continue  its  agency,  and  what  now 
thinks  shall  think  on  for  ever.  Those  that  He  here  stretched 
before  us,  the  wise  and  the  powerful  of  ancient  times,  warn 
us  to  remember  the  shortness  of  our  present  state  :  they 
were,  perhaps,  snatched  away  while  they  were  busy,  like 
us,  in  tne  choice  of  life." 

"  To  me,"  said  the  princess,  "  the  choice  of  life  is  become 
less  important ;  I  hope  hereafter  to  think  only  on  the  choice 
of  eternity." 

They  then  hastened  out  of  the  caverns,  and,  under  the 
protection  of  their  guard,  returned  to  Cairo. 


CHAP.  XLIX. 

The  Conclusion,  in  which  nothing  is  concluded. 

IT  was  now  the  time  of  the  inundation  of  the  Nile  :  a  few, 
days  after  their  visit  to  the  catacombs  the  river  began  to  riseT 

They  were  confined  to  their  house.  /The  whole  region 
being  under  water,  gave  them  no  invitation  to  any  excur- 
sions ;  and  being  well  supplied  with  materials  for  talk,  they 
diverted  themselves  with  comparisons  of  the  different  forms 
of  life  which  they  had  observed,  and  with  various  schemes 
of  happiness  which  each  of  them  had  formed. 

Pekuah  was  never  so  much  charmed  with  any  place  as 
the  convent  of  St.  Anthony-,  where  the  !A.rab  restored  her  to 
the  princess,  and  wished  only  to  fill  it  with  pious  maidens, 
and  to  be  made  prioress  of  the  order  :  she  was  weary  of  ex- 
pectation and  disgust,  and  would  gladly  be  fixed  in  some 
un variable  state. 

The  princess  thought,  that,  of  all  sublunary  things,  know- 
ledge was  the  best.  She  desired  first  to  learn  all  sciences, 
ana  then  purposed  to  found  a  college  of  learned  women,  in 
which  she  would  preside,  that,  by  conversing  with  the  old, 
and  educating  the  young,  she  might  divide  her  time  between 
the  acquisition  and  communication  of  wisdom,  and  raise  up 
for  the  next  age  models  of  prudence  and  patterns  of  piety. 

The  prince  desired  a  little  kingdom,  in  which  he  might 
administer  justice  in  his  own  person,  and  see  all  the  parts  of 
"uvernment  with  his  own  eyes  ;  but  he  could  never  fix  the 


RASSELAS.  93 

iimits  of  his  dominion,  and  was  always  adding  to  the  number 
of  his  subjects. 

Tmlac  and  the  astronomer  were  contented  to  be  driven 
along  the  stream  of  life,  without  directing  their  course  to  any 
particular  port. 

Of  these  wishes  that  they  had  formed,  they  well  knew  that 
none  could  be  obtained.  They  deliberated  a  while  what  was 
to  be  done,  and  resolved,  when  the  inundation  should  cease, 
to  return  to  Abissinia. 


, 


14  DAY  USE 

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